The Time of Our Lives
by it makes sense in context
Summary: The romance of Jaune and Ruby, following them as they continue to grow. Will have both angsty and comedic elements.
1. Chapter 1

The first twenty-four hours after the last battle had been the worst. Ruby had spent the first three unconscious in a makeshift operating room while a doctor sewed her wounds shut and bandaged them. The next hour was spent waiting for Ren to be cleared. He had broken his left arm in five places. He still said he got off lighter than the rest. They had both spent the next twenty hours awake. It had taken another two for them to be allowed to see Weiss, looking smaller and more fragile as tubes connected her to a dozen machines. She had given them a weak thumbs up when they visited her, with Ruby being overly cautious so as not to accidentally knock something over.

They ended up having to leave her be, Weiss needed to rest and the nurses were eager to hurry Ruby and Ren out. Hour eight had marked the point when they were allowed to see the remaining members of team CFVY. They had lost Fox in the second year of the war, and Coco hadn't made it out of the final battle. Velvet had had to watch her die, unable to help and incapacitated by her own injuries. Yatsuhashi had made it out of the battles relatively unscathed, but had been donating blood to help out in any way he could, and Velvet, the doctors said she would probably never walk again. An hour later Blake was out of surgery, and in the process of waking up. By hour ten they knew that Sun wasn't going to make it, the poison had been in his system too long. Neptune had broken the news to the rest of his team, almost unable to speak through his sorrow. By hour eleven Sun was gone, those well enough to move had held a vigil for him as they waited for him to pass.

They buried Sun along with Qrow, Ironwood, Coco, and the rest of the dead a week later during a mass ceremony.

Yang had woken up at hour sixteen and demanded to be taken to Blake, though it wasn't until hour eighteen that she had been allowed to do so. Ruby and Ren had left the pair alone while they waited first with Weiss, then Nora, and finally outside of Jaune's operating theatre to find out if he would live. It had taken the full twenty-four hours for his surgery, another two days for him to gain even fleeting consciousness, and another three before he was awake long enough to have visitors.

* * *

After that everyone had drifted apart for a while, nobody communicated much for half a year. Even those who had always been close either lived together in companionable silence or went off on their own. Yang and Blake had been the ones who brought everyone back together, broke everyone out of their shells a bit, encouraged communication. Jaune came back from outside the kingdoms, started renting in Vale with the rest of his team, though he still spent weeks on end on long missions, at least now he had a place that he based himself when not on a mission. At least people had a chance of knowing where he was.

Ruby moved north to Atlas to be with Weiss, and they had been happy. Weiss had to run the Schnee Dust Company, she was the last one left, and she was intent upon reforming it along more egalitarian lines. And Ruby was finally getting to do what she had trained for, hunting outside the kingdoms on missions bound to help those in need, rather than the life or death battle for the fate of the world. Ruby had relished in it, the easy (for her) balance between her job and her relationship with Weiss. They were happy, for a long while, until the stresses of both their jobs began to pile on. Weiss's frustration that Ruby was so often gone, risking herself on the most dangerous missions available, and Ruby's that Weiss even complained because she was working so much when Ruby was home that they barely saw one another.

It had eventually culminated in a fight, each trading barbs in the front entrance when Ruby returned late from a mission. It was hardly their first fight, but it was their worst by far, ending when each pushed the other a little too far and Ruby turned on her heel and left, just barely remembering to grab Crescent Rose as she left a trail of rose petals behind her.

Ruby had gone to Patch first, spending three nights with her sister in their childhood home, before leaving with only a note left behind that read 'Vale'.

And that was how Jaune came to find Ruby, wearing a travel-stained cloak and trying not to cry in one of his favourite Valean bars, while he escaped his Teammates on what they referred to as 'date night'.

"Hey." Jaune slid into the bar beside Ruby. "It's been a while. Yang told me you were in Vale." He glanced out of the corner of his eyes at her. He'd made sure to sit on her right side, the left was covered by a dark patch, and underneath the socket was so mangled that the advanced Atlas prosthetics hadn't been an option. With her shoulders hunched forward she looked smaller than she had in years, curled over a glass of whiskey and with tears trickling out of her one good eye.

"And naturally you came to find me, because that's what Ruby is, in need of being found and protected. Can't let her look after herself, or do anything dangerous." There was a hard edge to Ruby's voice.

"No this is my favourite bar, and Ren and Nora are being sappy again. I just happened to run into you." It wasn't a lie, he hadn't been looking for Ruby, but Yang had told him to keep an eye out for her in a frantic email. "Gotta say, thought you would prefer establishments that were a little classier." Jaune motioned to the elderly pool table and the crowd of bikers surrounding it.

"Classy is the last thing that I want right now." Ruby took another sip of her whiskey, enjoying the way it burned. The harsh edge to her voice signalling that for her at least the conversation was over.

Sighing Jaune motioned to the bartender for one of his usual. After his beer was set in front of him he decided to try at talking again. "So I'm thinking of finding my own place, so that's new for me. Apartment hunting is hard, not a lot of places are within my price range, and even fewer are happy with tenants who are gone for weeks at a time."

"Renting with Ren and Nora getting to be too much?"

"I just don't understand how they can still be acting like they just started dating."

"They're in love Jaune."

"Yeah but so are Blake and Yang and they mellowed out."

"Blake and Yang have a child to look after." Ruby smiled as she thought about her niece. Blake and Yang had adopted her shortly after the war, when Serafina was still a baby. Her birth parents had died in the second year of the war, and Blake and Yang had cared for her ever since. At four years old Serafina was already set on becoming a huntress like her adoptive mothers.

"And you and Weiss eased up on the sappiness from what I hear." Jaune continued oblivious to the glare Ruby was aiming at him. "Even Velvet and Yatsuhashi are more subdued since the wedding."

"Velvet and Yatsuhashi were always subdued." Ruby laughed as she gestured with her glass, spilling a few drops over the side. "Love is different for every couple, you know that. Ren and Nora are just permanently teenagers."

"Speaking of couples, how are you and Weiss?"

"So Yang managed to keep her mouth shut about that huh?" A sour edge returned to her voice. "I don't want to talk about it."

Yang hadn't, Jaune knew the base details. There had been an argument and Ruby had shown up at Yang's door on Patch, travel stained and upset.

"Yang didn't tell me anything." He flinched when he caught the look Ruby was giving him. "Yang didn't tell me much." He corrected.

"Of course she fucking did, she tells everybody everything, can't have secrets with her around!" Ruby had a look on her face that could freeze hell over.

"She was worried about you, you walked out of her house after doing nothing but stare at the wall for three days. She told me to keep an eye out for you." Jaune took a long drink from his beer.

"I'm leaving." Ruby stood up and stumbled a little, before Jaune grabbed her forearm to steady her.

"No you aren't, we're having a conversation." Jaune pointed to her seat. "Sit back down and tell me what happened so I can help you."

"Fine!" Ruby snapped. "Do you really want to know what happened?" She was half yelling at this point, and people were beginning to stare.

"Indoor voices Ruby." Jaune reminded her, remembering what Blake said about drunk people being very large toddlers when she sober drove for Nora's birthday.

"Weiss and I had an argument." Ruby continued in a slightly quieter voice. "A disagreement about how we each want to live our lives. I'm perfectly happy to keep hunting and only seeing each other when I'm home, that's the life I chose for myself at a young age, I always knew that any relationship would be like that. She doesn't see it the same way, she would rather I took easier jobs and stayed closer to Atlas." She slid her empty glass away from her. "I said that maybe she had lost sight of what we had trained for. She said something about how it seemed like I was trying to get myself killed with all these dangerous missions, and that I could help without risking my life so much. I said that if she couldn't handle that I had chosen the life of a huntress because I need to be out there fighting and helping in the areas that are worst effected then maybe we shouldn't be together."

"Yeah but you two have had this discussion, and argument, before." Jaune said, recalling the irritated texts Ren and Nora had received from Weiss and Ruby respectively. "What happened this time?"

"I took a Class 6 mission."

"So you aren't blameless in this." Ruby had promised Weiss she wasn't going to do anything above a Class 4 for a while at least.

"Those people needed help Jaune and I'll be damned before I let people get hurt when I can help them!" Ruby gratefully accepted a new whiskey. "I don't think she gets that. I have the ability to help people and it is my duty to do so." She downed half of the glass in one swallow and grimaced. "Tell me you don't feel the same Jaune."

"She's just worried."

"I can look after myself!" Ruby snapped, but her words were beginning to slur. "And don't you dare give me that look, you haven't been on a mission less than a 7 in years."

"And I also didn't make a promise that I wouldn't. Or get myself nearly killed on a 10." Jaune took a swig of his beer. "What else?"

"Hey that giant Death Stalker got lucky!" Ruby protested. It had, it had been slightly too quiet and on her blind side. To say that she had almost died was an over statement, but she had been hurt badly.

"Stop avoiding the question."

"We both said some horrible things, I think I implied that she was just like her father, too engrossed in her work to care, and then," Ruby took a sip of her drink to steady herself. "Then she said I was headed the same way as my mother and I left."

"Shit I'm sorry Ruby-"

"Oh shut up it wasn't you who said it." Ruby swallowed the end of her drink and motioned to the bartender for another. "Just don't try any of that peace maker crap either. I don't want to talk to her."

Jaune watched her out of the corner of his eye while she sipped her drink. "How many of those have you had?"

"Does it matter?" Ruby turned her face away from him. "A few."

"Are you done yet?"

"You're going to cut me off either way so I guess so."

"Exactly. Are you ready to leave?"

"Yeah I guess I can find a hotel." Ruby ran her fingers along the bar tracing the grain of the wood.

"No, I'm not leaving you alone in this state. Come back to the flat and say hi to Ren and Nora, they're worried about you. You can sleep on the couch until you figure out what to do next." Jaune finished the end of his beer and stood up to pay both their tabs.

"Thanks." He barely heard her whisper as she stood up, stumbling from the alcohol and leaning on the bar for support.

"Can you walk by yourself?" Jaune watched her as she took a few steps.

"I think so." Ruby said as she wobbled slightly as she walked heel to toe along the hardwood floor.

"Let me know if you're going to fall okay? Or puke?"

The walk to Jaune's flat was quiet and cold. It had started to rain while they were inside, and Ruby dragged her foot through puddles, spraying water in wide arcs while she walked beside Jaune. Occasionally the spray hit Jaune, soaking the leg of his jeans below the knee. He didn't stop her, at least it was better than her sitting in a bar and eventually picking a fight (which she had done before).

"Did you grab much of your stuff when you left?"

"Just my hunting gear because it was already packed." Ruby scrunched up her face. "Which I left on Patch. All I've got on me is my wallet and Crescent Rose. I left my scroll at  
Yang's."

"That's part of why she was worried Ruby."

"And I think I left Crescent Rose at the bar."

"It's attached to your belt Ruby."

"Oh." She reached an arm behind her. "So it is."

"I'll call Yang and see if she can drop your stuff off tomorrow, unless you want to go back to Patch. Do you need to go shopping for anything? There are a few 24 hour stores around here."

"I'm too drunk for that, and I think I want to sleep. Can't I just borrow one of Nora's shirts?"

Ruby ended up borrowing a set of Nora's track pants and one of Jaune's very faded old band shirts that were too small for him but he had kept out of nostalgia. It had taken more than an hour to get the slightly more than tipsy Ruby who had decided she wanted nothing more than to braid Ren's hair to drink some water and go to sleep. She was snoring on the couch, while Ren, Nora, and Jaune gathered in the kitchen when Nora rounded on Jaune with questions.

"Tell me exactly what happened." She demanded, standing on a chair so that she could stare down at Jaune in an attempt to intimidate him. Living in a house with two men one a foot taller than her and the other half a foot than her had taught her some intimidation tactics. Other than Magnhild of course.

"Not my place." Jaune replied without breaking eye contact.

"Tell me."

"Nora." Ren warned as he watched her lean over, coming dangerously close to becoming unbalanced.

Nora threw her head over her shoulder and pouted. "But I want to know so I can help her when she wakes up."

"And she'll tell us then." Ren replied in an even tone, though the effect of being cool, calm, and collected, was slightly ruined by the pink clips in his hair and the bow at the end of his braid which Ruby had managed to finish before she crashed.

"Look, one of my very, very good friends just crashed on our couch drunk and apparently very upset, and I want to know why so I can help her. Is that really so bad?" Nora said, her eyes not leaving Ren's.

"Fine!" Jaune said, waving his hands in front of him as if he was trying to clear the air of Nora's voice. "She has a fight with Weiss, walked out, and stayed with Yang for a bit, walked out again, and then I found her when I went for a drink at the Bog. And don't you dare tell her that I told you because she was pretty upset that Yang told me, and I don't feel like being on the wrong end of her scythe."

"Damn." Nora said as she jumped off of her chair and sat down on it. "I thought those two had sorted their problems out."

"Yeah didn't they have that saga where both of them called in help from all of us?" Ren was pacing now. "Do you know why?"

"Yes, but I'll leave it up to her to tell you everything. From what I understand there is blame on both sides." Jaune told them. "Be careful around the subject with her okay? She'll tell you when she wants to. What time is it?"

"Ren grabbed his scroll off of the table. "12:30 am."

"Ahhh I'll call Yang in the morning before Ruby wakes up, I need to let her know Ruby's okay and get her to drop some of her stuff off." Jaune rubbed a hand over his face. "I'm going to bed."


	2. Chapter 2

It was 6:30 AM and Jaune sincerely hoped that Yang was awake and in an amicable mood. He knew that from the war that Ruby could be an early riser, especially when hungover, and he needed to call the elder sister to sort a few things out.

"What?" Came Yang's snapping voice when she finally answered, a yawnedging her words.. "Little busy here Jaune, Serafina's got preschool today and Blake's on a mission and I'm not wearing my prosthetic yet so this better be either really important, or really fast. Or both, preferably both."

"Just put me on speaker." Jaune suppressed a yawn, he didn't like being awake this early any more than Yang. In fact, he was certain that the only people who enjoyed waking (up this) early were Ruby and Nora.

"Jaune! Just tell me why you called me first?" Yang snapped. She had been awake for all of 10 minutes, and she was not in the mood to be messed around first thing in the morning. Although that was a fairly normal mood for her.

Jaune sighed as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Well I found your sister."

There was an audible tap as Yang switched her scroll to speaker and dropped it on her bed. "Open with that next time, how is she?"

"About to wake up with a terrible hangover I'd guess, I found her drunk in Vale, and she's sleeping it off on my couch." Jaune replied. "She said she left some stuff at your place, is it okay for you to drop it off?"

"Jaune that's an 8 hour round trip, with Blake away, I'm not going to have anyone to watch Sera after preschool while I'm gone - OW you stupid thing!" Yang added a few hushed curses. "Damn arm, who designed this?!"

"Your sister."

"Don't be cheeky." Jaune could hear the scowl in Yang's voice. "And anyway, I do have a job to do here, I teach a few combat classes at Signal remember? Can't you come and fetch her stuff?"

Jaune shook his head, knowing that she couldn't see him. "I leave for a week long mission tomorrow and I need to prep for that, I think Ren and Nora are busy too, and I don't think Ruby is going to want to move from Vale for the next few days."

"All I've got is her scroll and mission supplies, which are understocked anyway, It's not like I've got much of her stuff she needs right now and can't buy in Vale, she can live without her scroll for a few days, might help her to cool down a bit, I might come for a visit over the weekend with Sera, she'll be excited to see Nora, but I can't do much more than that at the moment, OWW!" Yang tried not to scream too loudly as she finally got her prosthetic to attach to her neural link. "I will never get used to that. Makes me wonder if having a fully weaponized arm and a general use arm is worth it."

"Yeah but without the fully weaponised one you wouldn't have a flamethrower." Jaune pointed out.

"And weaponised arms are kind of a hassle to have around kids, right?"

"You make a good point." Yang said.

"How come you weren't wearing it overnight, don't you usually?"

"There were some aquatic Grimm causing trouble along the coast, I volunteered to get rid of them, I was just too lazy to change my prosthetic over last night after I got back." There was a grin in Yang's voice. "I took out most of them single handedly." She ignored the groan from the other end of the line. "You know everyone thinks living on an island without a spawner must be great, but we still get the Aquatic and Avian Grimm from time to time."

"I nearly forgot, Ruby mentioned a bit of what happened in her fight with Weiss." Jaune interrupted Yang as she began her usual spiel about the advantages and disadvantages of terrain. The line was dead for a moment. "About how they both accused each other of being like their parents?"

"Yeah, that bit."

Yang sighed. "You know what happened to Summer Rose right?"

"Yeah, I mean Ruby mentioned her a few times, And Qrow explained all of the maiden and hereditary power stuff to me, which included a fair bit about Summer Rose."

"Look, I knew Summer better than Ruby did, and Ruby has a lot of the same drive Summer did, That was something Dad and Qrow used to tell her a lot too, Ruby took Weiss's comments pretty badly because of that." Yang sighed. "Though being like Summer is better than being like Dad I guess." There was just an edge of bitterness in Yang's voice as she thought about how when she felt she had been abandoned by her partner she had fallen into the deep depression her Uncle said was characteristic of her father.

"I'd argue that your sister is too much like your uncle." Jaune said. "I mean, if last night is anything to go by."

"He always did have a strong influence on her, I'm gonna say that wasn't always a good thing." Yang stretched her Prosthetic arm out before picking up her scroll, cool metal fingers clinking against the metal edges. "Sorry Jaune, I really should probably get going, gotta get Sera ready for preschool and that is going to be a nightmare, Never have kids Jaune, it's not as worth it as you think, And then I have to get myself to Signal, Thanks for the Ruby update, I really will try to drop that stuff off over the weekend."

"Thanks anyway." Jaune scratched at the back of his head as the line went dead. "Guess I've just got to deal with the hungover idiot on the couch then, Typical." He stretched as he walked into the kitchen. It was a Wednesday morning, so Ren was probably asleep still and Nora would be on a run, and he had about a half hour to deal with Ruby before they both arrived.

Ruby came to with Jaune shaking her shoulder and pushing a glass of water into her hand, which she drank almost before she could register her thumping headache.

"Thanks." She rasped out as she pulled her blanket over her head in an attempt at blocking out the light.

"Oh no you don't." Jaune grabbed the blanket and pulled it off of her, ignoring her whines of protest as she shoved her face into the furthest corner of the couch.

"How much do you remember of last night?"

Ruby was quiet for a moment. "Bits of it." She mumbled into the couch cushions. "Sorry you had to see that."

"Pretty sure we've both seen worse from each other, now get up."

"Please just leave me to die." Ruby made no effort to move.

"Not happening. I have a lot to do today, which apparently includes taking you shopping because you thought so far ahead when you left Patch." Jaune glared at the woman.

"Can't Yang bring my stuff over?" Ruby whined as she pulled her face out of the couch cushions.

"Or you and I could go get it."

"No and no. Yang has a life, and I'm about to head off on a mission." Jaune stood from where he was crouched beside the couch. "And you can't live out of our wardrobes until Yang can visit either, so suck it up."

"I hate you."

"Noted."

Breakfast was a quiet affair, with Jaune pouring two bowls of cereal and milk, and Ruby glowering at any source of noise between sips of her coffee.

"Don't you normally have a ton of cream and sugar in that?"

"Yes."

"Do you want some?" Jaune pushed the sugar towards Ruby and moved to grab the milk from the fridge.

"No." Ruby glared at the sugar as if it had personally attacked her.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine." Ruby took a long sip and stirred her cereal. "Weiss used to make my coffee with all that sugar and cream because that's what I drank at Beacon."

"Did you not like it?"

"It just reminds me of her." Bitterness edged Ruby's voice as she stared into her mug. "Though I don't know how people drink coffee without it."

"I don't understand how people drink coffee with sugar." Jaune responded. "Too sweet for me."

Ruby sat there and studied him for a moment, he was reading something on his scroll which lay flat on the table, spoon resting idly in his other hand. She noticed the bronze band that he wore around his wrist as it peaked out of his grey sleeve. She had one exactly like it, as did Ren and Nora. She rarely wore hers anymore, preferring to leave it in the safety of her jewelry box in Atlas when on a mission. She didn't want to lose or break it.

"Where is your mission taking you?"

"Out past Mistral." Jaune replied. "It's been about a six months since I was last out that far."

"Are you going to visit Pyrrha while you're there?"

"Of course." Jaune answered, eyes trained on his bowl. "It's cathartic, I still miss her, hurts like a gaping wound some days, I'll see something that she should have been here for, or even just something she would have liked, those are the worse days."

"Shit I'm so-"

"I swear by all the gods above and below that if you apologise for that night again I'll never speak to you again." Jaune cut her off. It was a conversation they had had a million times, one they had both learned to shut down before it started. "You weren't anymore to blame than me. Fuck I should have been-"

"I was going to apologise for bringing her up." Ruby said, idly stirring at the bowl Jaune had

pushed towards her. _You need to stop blaming yourself too Jaune._

"Don't, That's not something you need to apologise for either." Jaune looked up and met Ruby's eyes. "Just promise me one thing."

"Yeah?"

"That you'll try to reconcile with Weiss. I'm not saying you have to get back together, or that you have to be particularly good friends after this, but make your peace at least, Don't hate her forever, Not everyone gets an ending like Blake and Yang or Ren and Nora, but just don't lose her before you have to."

Ruby's silver eye met Jaune's blue ones, reminding herself that this was a man who had lost so much more than anyone should have to at his age. "I will. I'll try."

* * *

So shorter than last time, it was going to be longer, but this felt like the natural conclusion for the chapter. Shoutout to Reddit user BryceWilliam for Beta reading/editing this chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

"How's the apartment search going, really?"

"Like trying to pull nevermore teeth, it's not happening." Jaune sighed and took a sip of his coke. They were sitting in the food court, taking a break from their shopping. "It's slim pickings, all the one bedroom places are either too expensive, in bad repair, or don't take Huntsmen." Jaune scowled. It was a long standing issue within The Kingdoms, many landlords didn't rent to lone Huntsmen and huntresses because tenants were often gone for long stretches of time. The profession was just too high risk. "I looked at the markets in Vacuo and Mistral, they aren't much better, and Atlas is well, Atlas."

"It's a system that works for them."

"If you don't mind sharing dormitories with strangers." Atlas had dealt with the Huntsman Housing Crisis by building mass accommodation for Huntsmen and huntresses who agreed to ally with the kingdom.

Ruby sighed. "They aren't that bad you know, I stayed in them a few times. It's almost like a posh hotel."

"Still, I'm not leaving Vale for a place in a dormitory." Jaune scowled. "I don't want to tether myself to any-one kingdom. I considered getting a roommate and going for a two bedroom, that way I eliminate those who wouldn't rent to a lone huntsman. It ends up a bit cheaper for something nicer."

"Good idea."

"But all the roommate listings are skeevy or don't want a huntsman." Jaune continued. "See the problem?"

"Get a hunter for a roommate." Ruby picked at the second half of her burger, pulling out the pickles she had forgotten were in it. "Less complaints, right? I mean they can't really judge."

"Most huntsman are new blood now, and are either sorted with their team, or don't want to settle just yet. Our year and our friends years were unusual remember? And the old generation is almost gone." Jaune said. "So that's how fucked I am for moving out."

"You could go for a more expensive apartment. You do a lot of high risk high reward missions, they pay well right?"

"Most of it goes to medical costs." Jaune tapped the center of his chest, reminding Ruby of the delicate machinery integrated with his organs that kept him alive. Artificial valves and structures supporting his lungs and heart that had been implanted following the war, allowing him to continue with his work as a huntsman. The internal robotics Jaune contained differed from the artificial limbs other Hunters sported. Artificial limbs was a pre-established business for Huntsmen, making them not only cheaper but also better constructed. Internal prosthesis was still new, with only a handful of Hunters currently using them. Ironwood had been one of the first to have them, but many of his organs had been fully replaced whereas Jaune's were only enhanced with machinery. They were intended to last ten years or more without needing repairs or replacement, but the high impact life of a Huntsman (especially Jaune who had the unfortunate propensity for taking hits to the chest) meant that he needed repairs or replacements almost yearly. "Maintaining this stuff isn't cheap, and I need to keep money aside in case something unexpected happens. I mean it would be cheaper if I took easier missions, but the payoff would be the same. I don't take as many missions as I used to remember? Ren and Nora made me agree to spend as much time in Vale as I do on missions."

Ruby nodded, she had been made a similar agreement with Weiss, admittedly with less protest than Jaune had. Both of them had thrown themselves into their work following the war, trying to move past what had happened. Their teams had slowly dragged them back to the more normal schedules they now followed. "Seems like you're up shit creek then."

"Yeah."

Ruby looked up from her plate. "So why do you want to leave? You seem fine with Ren and Nora."

"They need their space." Jaune smiled. "I think Ren is going to propose, and I want to be out of their hair well before then."

"Well if Ren doesn't propose, Nora sure as hell will." Ruby smiled. "I missed them while I was in Atlas, got any other news about them?"

"Not really." Jaune stared wistfully at Ruby's fries, he had long since finished his own meal and was regretting not ordering more. "Have you made any decisions on what you'll do?"

Ruby scowled into her plate. "I was thinking renting in Vale until you told me how bad the market is, I'm still not going to be doing many big missions so money is going to be an issue."

"Why not to the big missions, you're fine most of the time."

"Yeah but that time with the Deathstalker spooked me, and Weiss never had time to hunt, and tagging along with Blake or Yang, as much as I love them both, doesn't work so well as I wished." Ruby sighed. "I'm better off with the easier missions that I don't need someone to watch my left side, Weiss was right about that at least."

"That must be hard to admit."

"It is." Ruby took a drink from her soda. "And if I wanted to back to Yang and Blake's it would be like you living with Ren and Nora, except ten times worse because they have a kid as well. I don't want to go to back to Atlas, at least not to live. Mistral and Vacuo are out, because I don't have strong enough ties to either kingdom to make it worth it." Ruby mused. "Mostly my plan for now is to get my things all in one place, I have no doubt that Weiss has boxed all of them up by now. Or ordered them boxed up." There was a hint of bitterness in Ruby's voice as she mentioned her girlfriend. "That or she'll be waiting for me to return home like nothing happened."

"You'll figure it out." Jaune reached a hand across the table to pat Ruby's shoulder. "I mean if you want to we could try searching for a 2 bedroom together."

"It would solve some of the renting issues, and the money." Ruby said. "I'd need to see what Vale has on offer for apartments and houses for rent though."

"Most of the houses you can rent are derelict or crazy expensive, apartments are more looked after and better priced." Jaune said. "When you have your scroll back I can send you a list of the two bedrooms I like the look of, or you can flick through them on my scroll tonight."

"Thanks, I'll do that." Ruby said as she stood up and stretched. "We better keep on going. I mean you got your shopping done, but I'm still wearing one of your shirts and Nora's skirt. I know I have my dress that's in the wash, but I need to have more than that, and I really can't live out of your wardrobes until I can get my stuff from Atlas."

"Well then I guess we had better get onto that." Jaune stood up. "I guess You're going to drag me to every store in the mall now."

"Hey, I'm no happier about this than you. I only like weapon and food shopping." Ruby scowled. "Let's just get this over with."

* * *

"By the way, what do you think about Shag pile carpet?" Ruby didn't look up from Jaune's scroll as she thumbed her way through the listed apartments.

Jaune stared at Ruby helplessly for a moment. She was sprawled over the arm of the couch, her bangs pulled up in a tiny ponytail to stop them from getting in her eye. "We are not having shag pile."

"Oh come on, it looks fun!"

"Absolutely not." Jaune grabbed his scroll out of Ruby's hand, she had been looking through apartments on it since the night before, occasionally asking for his input. "Have you ever tried cleaning it? It's impossible."

"Spoilsport." Ruby pouted. "Fine, no shag pile. Unfurnished is okay right?"

"We'll have to go shopping for furniture no matter what." Jaune replied. "But if it has some furnishings that would be preferable."

"Got it." Ruby gave him a thumbs up.

"Look, I have to go now or I'll miss my airship."

"Say hi to Pyrrha's Mum and Dad for me if you see them."

"Say hi from me and Ren too!" Nora called from the kitchen where she was frying bacon for her breakfast.

"Nora that's not even-"

Jaune held up a hand. "Don't even bother trying to correct her, she knows it's wrong."

"Really?"

"I will." Jaune ignored Ruby as he yelled to the kitchen. "I always do. You know they would love it if either of you visited."

"Ren and I don't take a lot of missions in Mistral." Nora answered at the same time as Ruby replied "I do, just not as often as I would like."

Jaune shook his head. "Well I understood about half of that, which is more than usual I guess. Ruby, tell me about those apartments you have a viewing for. Nora, don't let Ruby do anything too reckless."

"I'm on Breakup patrol, got it oh Great and Fearless Leader." Nora poked her head around the corner. "You keep yourself safe Jaune, I don't want a call that you're In the hospital again."

"I will, I'm not doing anything too hard this time. Couple of Deathstalkers If I'm unlucky, probably just an tribe of Ursai." Jaune took a deep breath. "REN, WAKE UP!"

There was a thud followed by some shuffling in the hallway as a very tired looking Ren made his way into the lounge. "When do you move out again?"

"Your instructions are to keep an eye on both of these two."

"Jaune we're adults, they'll be fine. You're the one we should be worried about. Half the time you come back here covered in cuts and bruises, and the other half you need to be hospitalised." Ren rubbed the sleep from his eyes with the palm of his hands. "I mean that's the same for most lone Huntsmen, but still, look after yourself. Go on your mission, just remember to dodge and not only catch things with your chest."

* * *

The next few days passed in a blur of Ruby being shown empty apartments, some of which she liked, and some she hated. And organising with Weiss through Nora a date to collect her things from the Schnee mansion. Yang visited on the third day, bringing her tiny daughter in tow.

Serafina had been delighted to see Nora, who she saw as an aunt regardless of familial status, and Nora had been equally delighted to see the toddler. That was another reason Jaune was eager to move out, Nora was known to be a little baby crazy and he knew it was only a matter of time before his teammates added a new member to their family in his opinion. Not that Jaune disliked kids, he just wanted to be gone before then.

Ruby had absconded early in the visit to sort through her supplies that Yang had brought back to her, and to check the messages on her scroll. She had received a surprising amount from Weiss, panicked about her apparently going missing.

"So you're hiding in here huh?" Yang leaned against the kitchen counter opposite her sister. "You should at least say hi to Serafina."

"I did." Ruby said, not looking up from her newly returned scroll.

"You know what I mean."

"I will, I'm just checking my messages." Ruby slid her scroll shut and slid it into the pocket of the shorts she had bought while shopping with Jaune. "Did you field many from Weiss for me?"

Yang looked at her sister carefully while tapping her metallic fingers against the Formica countertop. "Did she call me panicking about you? Yeah she did, she was worried. You stormed out in a snowstorm, and then you went missing with no way of being contacted. Are you doing okay?"

"As well as I can be." Ruby sighed. "I had a massive fight with my girlfriend, one that I don't want to recover from because it'll just happen again like it did before, and I'm not sure what I'm doing next. I'm probably going to be renting an apartment with Jaune, seeing as he wants to move out of here and it'll just be easier that way."

"My little sis moves on quickly!" Yang joked before catching Ruby's death glare. "I'm sorry, that was tasteless, even for me. You sure you want to do that? I mean you and weiss could still-"

"We are not."

"Okay then."

"And I've known Jaune for years, if I can't trust him, I can't trust anyone." Ruby smiled, thinking about how during the war she and Jaune had frequently worked together as team leaders. "So yeah, I do. I was just looking at some apartments I like."

"And?"

"And some of them look pretty good, Jaune said it was okay if I went and checked them out without him and we'll make decisions from there." Ruby smiled. "That's something that's going well right? Finding a new place to live."

"You would always be welcome back home." Yang reached across to place her hand over her sisters. "Blake and I would love to have you, and Dad would love having you around more." Taiyang still lived on Patch, he had just moved to a smaller house that he found easier to manage.

"I know sis." Ruby sighed and stretched her arms in front of herself. "But I can't burden you guys again."

"When are you going to collect your stuff from Weiss's?"

"In a few weeks I hope." Ruby said. "After I've moved out of here."

"Do you know where you're going to move into?" Yang asked.

"I have a few places I really like the look of, one is in an area mostly populated by Hunters too so that's good. I'm only looking at the ones that are trying to get vacancies filled ASAP." Ruby explained. "Jaune is going to look at my shortlist when he gets back, then we'll make decisions and sign onto a place."

"I can help with getting your stuff from Weiss's. Blake will be back by them to watch Serafina."

"I already asked Nora." Ruby shot down her sister's request. "She's agreed to stop me doing anything I might regret."

"Like going back to Weiss?"

"Yeah." Ruby stared into space for a minute. "I still love her you know."

"Well you had a long term relationship, it's to be expected." Yang said, watching her sister carefully. It wasn't like her sister to open up too much.

"But it just doesn't work." There was a choking sob in Ruby's voice as she spoke. "I'm so stupid."

"No you're not, we all want to be happy, and sometimes it doesn't work like we want it to. You were chasing the moments of happiness you shared." Yang watched her sister. "It just doesn't work so much now."

"No." Ruby agreed. "It doesn't." She stood up from her counter stool. "I had better go see the niece, gotta hype her up on sugar before sending her home with you like the awesome auntie I am."

"Do that and you'll be worrying about more than just finding a new place to stay."

"Love you too sis."

Truthfully, Ruby was not the sort of Aunt who gave her niece too much candy, that was Nora's job (who had spent the morning making cupcakes for the visitors). Ruby prefered to spoil her niece with small gifts, often tiny versions of weapons. Her niece had made it clear she wanted to be a huntress many times, and Ruby loved to indulge her by buying toy weapons and having mock fights with the child. The latest of these 'weapons' she had bought while shopping with Jaune. Which Yang had attempted confiscate on sight.

"Absolutely not." Yang had swiped the toy from Ruby's hand. She had just walked back into the lounge after a long catch up with Nora. "She is four, too young."

"Oh come off it that's mine, do you really think I would give a four year old a rubber band gun to play with?" Ruby smiled at her sister. "I'm just showing Sera how it works, all the mechanics in it. I actually got her a toy sword because I stepped on her old one when I visited last. It's fine."

Yang regarded the toy weapon Sera had shoved through her belt with suspicion. "It's wood."

"She's old enough. Uncle Qrow gave us blunt edge weapons when we were that age." Ruby reasoned. "If I remember rightly, you tried to stab Dad with mine."

Yang thought for a moment, kneeling down in front of her daughter. "You know what you do with that right?"

"I don't hit people, only pillows." Serafina met her mum's eyes. "Auntie Ruby already told me this. She says she's feeling better now, that she's not sick like when she saw us last."

"I'm just making sure you're safe. And yeah, Auntie Ruby seems to be doing much better now. Now go annoy Nora, I need to have another chat with your aunt." Yang watched as her daughter ran off to find Nora who would undoubtedly give her more candy. "Just because Qrow did something doesn't make it a good idea." She turned on her sister. "I know you had some kind of hero worship with him-"

"It's not about trying to be Qrow, fuck I know it's not good to be like him. I try very hard not to be too much like him."

"And a bang up job you're doing of that!"

"It's about making sure your daughter can handle a weapon." Ruby finished, meeting her sister's violet eyes with her silver one.

"Why to protect herself from Salem? Newsflash, she's gone, you got rid of her. Sera doesn't live in a world where she will have to be like you."

"And what if she does." Ruby hissed. "What if she has to fight too young? I wouldn't have survived if Qrow hadn't taught me so young. Salem would have wrecked me, Cinder would have. I'd have lost more than just an eye against her." Ruby reminded her sister. "I'm paranoid, I know, I try not to be. But I'm paranoid for good reason."

"You think I'm not paranoid too?" Yang sat beside her sister. "I'm scared to leave her alone. I'm scared when Blake is gone. I'm scared that something worse is going to come for us. I'm scared for when the Grimm really come back, not what they are now. I'm scared that my daughter is going to end up like us, hurt and scared because she had to take on something bigger than herself before she was ready. I wake up in cold sweats some nights when all I can see is the waves of Grimm like they were during the war. Or I see people like Adam, or I think Blake is really gone."

"She won't -"

"Exactly, it's irrational. It's not going to happen." Yang stood up. "I know it's hard to let go of it, but please try not to introduce my daughter to fighting too early. I want her to actually be a kid. That's why I freaked out over this." Yang shook the rubber band gun.

"Relax, I got that so I can shoot Jaune with it. Ages 6 and up see?" Ruby pointed at the label. "Not for Sera."

"I know I just I-"

"You worried, and you were right to." Ruby wrapped an arm around her sister's shoulders. "But she's determined to be like you, and you can't protect her forever."

"I can damn well try." Yang growled before catching Ruby's look. "The sword is fine, she'll stab a few stuffed Ursa when she gets home and she'll forget it for a week, you know that right?"

"Yeah, but at least she stabbed the Ursa and not you." Ruby smiled and checked the time on her scroll. "It's almost 5, don't you have to get on an airship at 5:30?"

Yang scowled as she looked at the time. "I wish they had a later ship."

"So do I, it was good to see you both again. You know, when I'm not all weirded out." Ruby stood up and stretched her arms over her head. "Thank you."

"Anytime sis." Yang pulled her sister in for a hug then let her go. "Good luck on the apartment search. And getting your stuff from Atlas. And the rebound." Yang wiggled her eyebrows slightly. "If you know what I mean."

"I know." Ruby nodded. "And I have no intention of fucking Jaune. And you really should be going. I don't want you to be late."

"Yeah." Yang walked to the kitchen island and poked her head over it to speak to her daughter "Pack your stuff kiddo, we have to go now."

"But we only just got here! I wanna stay with Auntie Nora!" Serafina protested.

"My word is law kiddo, you only have a few things right? Go grab them and bring them to me."

"Fine."

"You're good at that." Nora commented.

"I have to be, I'm a Mum." Yang smiled. "Look after yourselves, both of you. And Ren." She spotted the man standing by the kitchen entrance. "You're really quiet you know that?"

Ren's response was only to smile.

"I've got my stuff Mum." Serafina pulled at the hem of her mother's coat before slipping her hand into her Mum's.

"All of it?"

"Yup."

"Awesome." Yang looked back to the adults. "Well, this is us. See you all next time we visit."

"See ya." Ruby said at the same time as Nora sung. "Goodbyeee!" Ren just waved.

When Yang had left Nora slumped against the kitchen counter. "Children are exhausting."

"They have more energy than you." Ren commented.

"You need to speak around Sera, she's going to think you're mute." Nora nit-picked at her boyfriend.

"I'm just quiet! And that kid is so hyper, I don't think I could keep up with a conversation with her." He rebutted.

"Ren you literally sat there for half an hour and nodded while she showed you her dolls once. It wouldn't kill you to speak."

Ren sighed and rolled his eyes. "What do you want for dinner? Pancakes is not an answer."

Ruby smiled as she returned to the couch and started thumbing through her scroll. The dinner debate was one she was familiar with, and had learned to never involve herself.

* * *

And once again, a massive thank you to my awesome Beta reader, reddit user /u/BryceWilliam. The next chapter or two might be a bit faster than the first three, but no real promises.


	4. Chapter 4

Arriving home from missions was something Jaune had long hated. Not because with his mission over he felt useless (although that was part of it), but because Ren and Nora had a habit of fussing over him, worried over the injuries he had undoubtedly acquired during his mission. Once when he had tried to arrive home in the middle of night, he had found Ren waiting for him with a pile of empty energy drink cans beside him. And on the times he came home while Ren and Nora were on a mission, Velvet or Yatsuhashi had made a point to check on him. It was a ritual he wasn't fond of, but it was one he was used to, and one he knew was needed. The fact that he frequently returned home covered in injuries, and that there was a high risk that the damage was worse than he thought, made it necessary.

Today was no exception. Nora accosted him almost as soon as he walked through the flat's front door, demanding that he show them the damage done this time, while Ren said "At least you're breathing normally." There had been several times Jaune had arrived back at the flat struggling for breath, though he had learned to go to the hospital first in those cases.

Ruby observed it all from the hallway, unsure of her place in this. During the war she had been one of the ones to force Jaune to the medical tents. But now she was unsure of where she fit in, until Nora told her that "If you're going to live with him, this is something you are going to have to do. Make sure he isn't hurt worse than he acts."

"I'm fine." Jaune said as he pulled off his pack. "It hurts, but I'm breathing. I took a hit to the side from an overgrown Ursa, and I landed funny but nothing is broken, it's just a bit of bruising. I'm fine. Everything feels fine inside too." Jaune hoped his teammates would leave it at that.

"Really." Nora said as she narrowed her eyes. He had lied about injuries before, believing that if he could heal nearly instantly it didn't matter. It did of course, wounds could become infected regardless of how fast they healed. "Prove that it's just bruising."

"Fine! I need to get all of this armour off and I'll show you." Jaune replied while fiddling with the straps of his breastplate. Despite having mastered using his aura as a shield, Jaune had never abandoned more traditional forms or armor, in part because they afforded his chest better protection, and in part because he found the familiar weight comforting.

It was an odd sight for Ruby, watching as Jaune's team fussed over him while leading him to the lounge. She was used to seeing it be the other way around during the war. Jaune incessantly worrying over Nora and Ren, making sure they were safe and that they were getting correct medical attention. During the war he had been less worried about himself, his immense aura always healed most injuries in a few days to a fortnight, compared to the weeks or months some others faced. For him medical attention had meant little more than having bones set correctly. Yang had once joked that Jaune was a starfish, and that if she cut off one of his limbs it would probably grow back in time. It wasn't until the aftermath of the final battle that Jaune had been faced with the reality that there were some injuries that even his Aura couldn't heal, though it was part of the reason he survived. His aura hadn't been fully depleted when he was hurt, but Salem's attacks had been able to cut through it with ease.

"Hey Ruby can you get the first aid kit?" Ren asked her from where he sat next to Jaune on the couch, carefully pulling gauze off of his left arm. "I think we might need it this time."

"We need it every time!" Nora interjected glaring at Jaune. "Because he seems to think he is invincible."

"Where is it?" Ruby asked, ignoring Nora's furious ranting.

"Under the sink." Nora replied. "Gods Jaune this isn't just a bit of bruising. What the hell happened to your arm?"

"Gravel rash. I slid when I landed on it." Jaune said. "I was attacked by an Ursa while I slept."

"You took half the skin off your arm!" Nora hissed as she poked at one of his bruises. "This is not fine!"

Jaune sighed while he looked at his arm. "It'll be gone in a few more days, it probably won't even scar. I'm fine."

"I found the first aid kit . . ." Ruby's voice trailed off as she re-entered the lounge.

"It's a bit of a sight ae?" Jaune said as he noticed Ruby staring at the mess of scars that covered his chest and arms. Three puncture wounds in his left bicep and thick ropy burn scaring up his right arm both from fighting Cinder. Three long parallel scars that wrapped from his left rib cage around his right side gained fighting Nevermore after the war, the injury that had made his team try to bring him back to Vale more permanently. And the mess of scars, some surgical, some not, that covered his chest from his collarbone to the bottom of his rib cage. Ruby hadn't seen him without a shirt since before the war ended. "It's why I keep it covered up all the time. It's gruesome, and I hate the stares. Though I guess you get some of that." He gestured to the way Ruby's hair hung over her eye patch.

"Yeah well, not as bad as you would but a bit." Ruby tugged at the hair covering the eye. She had her own scars too, they all did, it was part of the lives they chose. But Jaune, his scars were something else, something worse than most huntsmen would ever have. "Here Ren."

"Thank you." said Ren as he rifled through the first aid kit looking for anti-sceptic. "How does the bruising look Nora?"

"Not too bad actually." Nora replied as she poked at the dark bruising that stretched from Jaune's rib cage to the waistband of his jeans, ignoring his hisses of complaint. "It's turning yellow around the edges, and he's not screaming when I do this," She pressed on Jaune's ribcage. "So no breaks, and probably no internal damage."

"See, I told you that I'm fine!" Jaune complained as he pulled away from Nora. "Don't poke me again it does hurt you know! Can I go to bed now? I'm tired, I didn't sleep much last night."

"Let me just treat this." Said Ren as he unscrewed the anti-sceptic. "Nora, hold him still."

"Oh gods not that shit." Jaune had spotted the bottle Ren was holding. "When have I ever gotten an infection from a wound?"

"Not recently because we treat them with this." Ren answered. "It's not that bad, you're just being a big baby."

" _It burns worse than fire you asshole and you know it!"_ Jaune hissed through clenched teeth as Ren started dabbing as the gravel rash with a cotton swab.

"What is it?" Ruby asked as she picked up the bottle. "Tea tree oil? Oh come on it can't be that bad, it's only 15%."

"Actually the lower percentages sting more." Nora said as she clamped her hands on Jaune's shoulders keeping him in place. "And that stuff has some other treatment that Ren and I were taught to use back when we were kids mixed in, I can't remember what it is exactly."

"It's a dust compound." Ren said.

"Yeah that." Nora's cheerful voice stood out in sharp contrast to Jaune's scowling.

"Are you done yet?" Jaune asked Ren, ignoring the other conversation.

"I'm just about to re-bandage it." Ren said, reaching for the bandages. "I think there is some leftovers in the fridge-"

"Nora ate them." Ruby interrupted.

"I can make you something to eat if you are hungry." Ren tried again.

"I ate on the Airship." Jaune said as he stood up and pulled on his shirt. "I just really want to rest right now. I promise that if I star coughing up blood I'll get one of you to take me to the hospital."

* * *

For Jaune resting generally meant getting some goddamn peace and quiet so he could check his messages or do some other mind-numbing activity, and relax. So here he was, lying on his bed, shoes still on (he could hear his mother yelling at him in the back of his mind), and playing a simply designed but stupidly difficult scroll game.

"So how was the mission really?"

Jaune looked up from his scroll to see Ruby standing by his door, arms crossed and smiling slightly.

"That part kinda got skipped in all the drama about your arm." She continued. "So how was it?"

"I spent 5 days fighting ursai in a swamp. What do you expect?" Jaune smiled. "There was nobody constantly worried about if I was looking after myself. It was peaceful."

"They only worry because you get hurt all the time. I mean seriously, I've watched you cook before, you nearly sliced your thumb off." Ruby said. "I'm being serious. How was the mission?"

"It was good. I got less hurt than usual I guess, which is nice." Jaune said while scratching at his stubble. "Got a few chances for a shower, but no time for shaving obviously."

"At least you didn't try using Crocea Mors to shave again." Ruby said as she remembered the time shortly after leaving Beacon when he had. Blood had been shed the day he shaved with Crocea Mors, and Jaune had resigned himself to being permanently stubbly or bearded when too far from civilisation. Not that anyone minded too much.

"You can't flirt with death too much, otherwise she starts to think you want something a bit more serious." Jaune joked.

"How is that sword anyway?" Ruby asked as she gravitated towards the stand it rested in.

"It's fine, no breaks, and it's barely dulled." Jaune said. "Because unlike some people I don't stick my blade in the ground at every opportunity."

"I only do it when I need to." Ruby defended herself. "It's part of how I fight."

"Or when you want to look like a badass." Jaune teased "I'm kidding, how did looking at apartments go?"

"Actually pretty good."

"Oh?"

"There were a lot of places that I liked the look of, and that were keen even though we're both hunters." Ruby said. "I compiled a list of the top five, and while with the Real estate agents I took the liberty of organising another visit to them, for the day after tomorrow. There is this one I really like, it's in a district mostly populated by hunters, and the Apartment itself is located over a gym, so that is helpful as fuck. And there are supermarkets, parks and fast food places all within walking distance."

"That description is missing a huge but I think."

"But it's unfurnished." Ruby took a deep breath. "And it has shag pile in one of the bedrooms. Only like part of the room though. I'll take that one."

"If we sign on to that apartment." Jaune said. "I mean other than that it does sound ideal."

"And it's currently empty." Ruby said. "The real estate agent seemed to like me, she said she would hold off letting anyone else sign until I gave her an answer."

"That sounds promising. Did you take any photos while there?" Jaune patted the space on the bed beside him. "Come sit down, it's awkward speaking to you with you standing up."

"It's actually pretty nice inside the apartment. The ceilings are high, but you're tall enough to change lightbulbs." Ruby said as she sat on the bed. "The kitchen has lino that looks like stone though."

"Is it that bad?"

"Jaune, it's almost a deal breaker for me." Ruby deadpanned. "Okay well maybe not that bad, but it's horribly cartoonish."

"Let me see?"

Ruby waved him off as she thumbed through the picture album on her phone, scrolling past endless selfies taken with Nora when she had declared they were having a wine night and Ren could go busy himself elsewhere. "This is it." She shoved the screen in his face.

"That - that's pretty bad." Jaune said as he looked at the photo. "But we could rip it out and put in new lino maybe?"

"When? I like to relax when I'm not out defending the kingdoms." Ruby said. "You're okay with taking a few extra weeks off before your next mission right? To get settled in."

"That I am." Jaune said. "I'll stick around until you get your stuff from Weiss's place. How is that going by the way?"

"Nora and I are going to do it once I'm in the new place and have some furniture. I bought flat pack bed yesterday."

"I'm not helping you assemble that." Jaune said.

"I'm bi, isn't the stereotype that we can build shit?" Ruby joked. "Dude If I can field strip Crescent Rose blind, I can build flat pack furniture."

"Good because I am fairly certain I would fuck it up." Jaune said pointing across the room. "You see that bookcase? I assembled it."

Ruby tilted her head while examining the bookcase in question, the sides were at uneven angles and the shelves were slanted, a few nails sticking out of it as well. The whole thing looked like it might collapse at any moment. "I mean it's - I'm sorry, I can't even fake it. How did you fuck up that badly?"

"Ren thinks I went wrong when I used nails instead of the provided screws." Jaune said. "Nora thinks I just can't follow instructions."

"I think it's the following instructions bit, given that using the screws provided is part of the instructions." Ruby said as she stood up to get a closer look at the bookshelf. "It's almost a masterpiece really. Like modern art or some shit."

"Why thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment." Ruby turned back to Jaune. "New flat rule though."

"We haven't even moved into a place yet but yeah what is it?"

"I build all the furniture."

"Fair enough." Jaune said looking back at his phone. "What about the other apartments you looked at?"

"There is one on Grange-"

"I'm not living on Grange." Jaune cut her off. "Too goddamn loud."

"Okay then." Ruby said. "And there are two places that are part of a complex near the agricultural district."

"Did it smell too much like the agricultural district when you were there?" Jaune asked.

"No actually." Ruby said. "They were nice inside, but a little on the small side. Good area though."

"Uh huh."

"You okay?" Ruby asked Jaune.

"Just more tired than I thought." Jaune said before yawning loudly. "I think I'm going to go to sleep."

"Night then." Ruby said as she left the room, switching off the light as she did.

* * *

"Ah it is so good to actually have a real bed again." Ruby said as she sprawled herself over the mattress. She and Jaune were almost finished moving in, having eventually decided on the apartment above the gym. True to her word she had taken the room with the shag pile carmer covering half the floor.

"Yes, it's very impressive that you built that, now could you help me get the rest of the flat packs upstairs?" Jaune complained as he pushed his own mattress past Ruby's room, thankful that he hadn't had to disassemble his bedframe too much to get it into the apartment. "Or build some more stuff?"

"You could try to build things too, the instructions are deliberately easy to follow." Ruby stood up, adjusting her tool belt on her hips as she did so. "What needs built next?"

"I dunno, the kitchen table and chairs?" Jaune said. "Sorry, mattresses are just really unwieldy, especially when bringing them up stairs."

"How about we just get everything inside for today and then call it quits?" Ruby plopped back down on her bed and pulled out her scroll. "It's 5:30 and I'm hungry."

"What are we going to eat?" Jaune asked. "I'm not pulling out fresh clothes to go to a restaurant, and I'm pretty sure neither of us want to cook."

"I saw a place advertising Mistrali pizza takeaways down the road, we could try that?" Ruby said. "And pizza doesn't need utensils. Could get some beer at the bottle store on the way back."

"Ah yes, the builder needs her cheap shitty beer." Jaune said as he dodged the screwdriver Ruby threw at him. "Relax, we can have the beer. And don't damage the walls, we've only been here a few hours. C'mon, let's go get food."

"I don't drink shitty beer." Ruby mumbled as she removed her tool belt and grabbed her wallet.

"What was that?" Jaune called behind him.

"I said you could go to hell!"

* * *

"You know, this pizza is pretty good. I mean, I know I had better in Mistral, and that Pyrrha's mom makes the best pizza, but this shit is good." Ruby spoke with her mouth full and the pieces for their kitchen table surrounding her.

"It is good pizza." Jaune agreed from the corner of the kitchen, where Ruby had confined him after he messed with her screws. "I still don't understand how you can do that." He gestured to the table.

"Well there is this thing called following instructions." Ruby said.

"I've been told that I'm shit at that." Jaune said, a grin on his face. "Most recently by you."

"Yeah well I told you to put the flatpacks in the rooms they needed to be built in, but you didn't." Ruby said. "So yeah, you are shit at following instructions." Ruby took a swig of her beer. "I guess that's why Ozpin made you team leader. Then you just had to give orders, and not follow them."

"Why am i friends with you again?" Jaune asked.

"Because I didn't laugh too much when you got launched into the forest at beacon?" Ruby answered. "And because you know, I'm fucking awesome and you would be lost in a sea of unmade furniture without me."

Jaune scowled at her as He reached for his own beer. "I could build it eventually. With help from like Yatsuhashi or something."

"You would be lost without all of us." Ruby sighed and shook her head. "So helpless."

"Bitch."

"Asshole."

Jaune stared at her for a long minute, pizza in one hand , and the instructions for making the table in the other. It reminded him of during the war, when the remaining team leaders had been forced to take charge after Ironwood's death. They had voted Jaune as General, though he rescinded the title as soon as he could, he was a huntsman, nothing more. Ruby had been his second in command, although she was more a co-leader, ever ready with maps or news from supply chains.

"So what are your plans?" Ruby asked, breaking the silence.

"For what?"

"You know, the future." Ruby said. "What are you going to do for the rest of your life?"

"I'm going to hunt, and if I survive until forced retirement I'll teach." Jaune said. "I don't have any grandiose plans. Honestly, I don't think I could handle any. So what about you? What are your plans?"

Ruby sighed as she put down the instruction sheet. "Well they were to eventually settle down properly with Weiss, you know, when I was ready, and I wasn't still able to work as a huntress. Then I was going to become a blacksmith." Ruby said, a small smile on her lips. "I guess I'm just going to hunt until I don't want to now. After seeing Yang and Blake adopt Serafina I decided that I wanted kids eventually."

"You'd be a good Mum." Jaune cut in. "Even If you would train all your kids to use Crescent Rose by the time they were seven."

"Well, I mean they would have to learn eventually." Ruby said. "Better it be early so they are prepared for when it all goes to shit."

"It's not going to do that again." Jaune said slowly. He knew about Ruby's paranoia from Yang and from Weiss, and he knew from them that the best way to help Ruby was with calm reassurance. "It didn't for thousands of years before us, and it won't for thousands of years into the future."

"I know that." Ruby snapped back at him. "But what if -"

"Then we'll deal with it when It happens. And not before then." Jaune said. "Grimm activity hasn't changed from what it was before the war."

"Yeah but they still _exist_."

"And they always will." Jaune told her. They had found out that Salem was never the origin of Grimm, that she was merely making them stronger, using them to her own ends. "Look, I'm sorry for bringing them up."

Ruby shook her head. "Don't be."

"Do you want a hand with the table?" Jaune asked as he reached towards the leg that Ruby had left within his reach.

"Touch that and I'll skin you alive." Ruby said before grabbing her pizza box. "If you want to be helpful you can recycle this."

"Fine." Jaune took the box.

"And start unpacking some of the shopping we did for house shit." Ruby yelled after him as he left the room. House shit was how Ruby referred to the linen and kitchen items Ruby and Jaune had spent hours shopping for over the weekend.

"I'll get right on that!" Jaune replied.

* * *

 **Once again, a massive thanks to /u/BryceWilliam for beta reading (if only you could all see his commentary).**


	5. Chapter 5

If there was one thing Ruby hated about Atlas it was how the rigid, militaristic architecture and frequently sub-zero temperatures combined to make everything seem far more intense than they actually were, while at the same time giving an almost impersonal feel to anything that happened. Though she supposed it was just part of the Atlesian culture, one born from the need to survive in a land lacking resources save for large dust reserves. And it was a sort of rigidity that had rubbed off on the people who lived there, making them endlessly stubborn, and dedicated to the core.

"You know the more I visit Atlas, the more I understand why Weiss is so, you know, Weiss." Nora said, giving voice to thoughts both she and Ruby were having. Nora's teeth chattered in the cold, she was used to the warmer Valean and Mistrali climates.

"It's not that bad." Ruby said, tugging her cloak tighter around her. "Well, I mean, it gets worse."

Nora glared at Ruby. "Why did you have to tell me that?"

"What? It's the truth. Atlas is cold, and it's only autumn, winter is worse." Ruby shrugged _. And it gets colder if you go further north_ , she didn't add. _And the Grimm are terrifyingly huge, and old as time, older than Ozpin or Salem_. People, save for nomadic tribes and the occasional overly curious traveller, rarely wandered north of Atlas. Since the war Ruby had only once, as part of a rescue party some travellers who though hiking north of Atlas to be a grand adventure. It had not turned out well for the travellers, and the rescuers had nearly frozen trying to reach them.

"I'll take your word for it." Nora said as she stuffed her gloved hands into the pockets of her thick coat. "Are you ready for this?"

"Just don't let me do anything stupid." Ruby's voice sounded small as she looked at the Shnee mansion. Their cab had dropped them there a quarter hour before, but Ruby had been unsure of what to do next. "I know I haven't told you everything, but please don't let me take her back." _It's bad for both of us._

"Don't worry, I won't." Nora said, bouncing on her heels. "You are going to be renting with Jaune, can't let his roommate skip out on him. Wouldn't be a very good teammate if I did." Her voice sounded oddly cheerful in the frigid air. "Hey, don't worry about it. I'll keep you both on track."

"Thanks for coming with me, you didn't have to -"

"Yes I did. Jaune would be too intimidating, and Yang might let you make a bad decision because it made you happy in the moment." There was a serious edge to Nora's voice. "Are you going to knock, or do I have to?"

"No need." Came a voice from behind them. "I guess we're really doing this then." Weiss said as she moved past them to the door. "We should get this over with then." There was sadness in Weiss's voice as she spoke. "But it's for the best isn't it?"

"We'll just fight again." Ruby said. "And it'll be worse."

"I don't want it to be worse." Weiss said as she unlocked the door. "So let's just do this."

It was silent as the girls moved from room to room, searching for objects and boxing them up. They weren't disturbed, Weiss lived alone except for the servants who came in during the week. Her father had been killed over the course of the war, the same poison that had taken Sun, one of the White Fang's invention. Winter preferred to live at the Atlesian military barracks with the soldiers that she commanded.

They were almost silent as they hunted for Ruby's items, mostly only speaking for clarifications on who owned what, and assertions for Weiss and Ruby to keep some of each other's items. Old cloak pins of Ruby's were carefully placed in Weiss's jewellery box, and some of Weiss's favourite stationery was added to Ruby's boxes because "God's know you don't own any you always used mine anyway."

"Hey do you remember this?" Weiss held up a photo frame.

"That's from Velvet and Yatsuhashi's wedding right?" Ruby smiled as she looked at the picture. "Oh god those shoes you made me wear, I almost broke my ankle." Ruby pointed at the strappy heels she had on in the photo.

"You are greatly exaggerating that." Weiss said. "You were fine." She was right, Ruby had been fine. Of course she had avoided dancing, using the broken wrist she had had at the time as an excuse. They had argued over that too, about Ruby's apparent lack of concern for her own safety.

"I would have been more fine in flats." Ruby mumbled. "Do you have a copy of that?"

"I think I have a digital copy somewhere." Weiss said, thinking for a minute. "And If I don't I can scan it."

"Thanks."

The time flew in a flurry of cardboard and packing tape until the three women were standing outside the mansion again. Nora was making sure appropriate care was taken with packing Ruby's belongings into the taxi. Ruby and Weiss stood off to the side, sharing awkward glances as they tried to ignore the tension that hung thick in the air between them.

"I'm sorry." Weiss broke the silence.

"So am I." Ruby responded. "I shouldn't have said what I sai-"

"Neither should I." Weiss said, cutting her off.

"We were both wrong weren't we?" Ruby reached out a hand to brush a hair out of Weiss's face, and Weiss leaned into the touch. They might have fought, worse and worse as time went on, but Weiss and Ruby did love each other. The bond between partners was a special one, one that couldn't be broken. But it was also tempestuous, it could produce a love stronger than any other, and hatred that could erase cities.

"Yes." Weiss agreed. "We both were." There were tears in her eyes as she looked at Ruby.

They stood like that for a moment, Ruby brushing her thumb over Weiss's cheek before Weiss reached up to wrap both arms around Ruby's neck. Even in her low heels she was shorter than Ruby, something that had been a sore point for Weiss.

"I love you, take care of yourself." Weiss whispered as she held onto the younger girl. "Eat healthy, and don't take too many hard missions - oh gods I sound like a mother." She found herself echoing words she had said a million times before as Ruby went on missions. "Even though you can't cook, try not to live on fast food. Why can't I switch this off?"

"You're fine." Ruby wrapped her arms around Weiss, pulling her closer. "I love you too. Try to take breaks from work. And good luck on the Vacuo trade deal."' She clung to Weiss, not wanting to break contact. "You always overwork yourself, but there are other things you need to focus on."

"That's part of where we both went wrong." Weiss mumbled into Ruby's shoulder.

Ruby sighed as she felt tears prick at her eyes. "Please don't do this.

"I'm trying not to." Weiss said. "We can't keep doing this -"

"It's not healthy -"

"And it only ever ends in tears -"

"We'll just fight again." Ruby pulled away from the hug as snowflakes began to fall around them. "You always did look pretty in the snow." She gave a small smile.

"Now you're doing it." Weiss said.

"Sorry." Ruby said. "It just occurred to me and no impulse control and -"

"Stop it, you're fine." Weiss met Ruby's eyes. "This really is goodbye though, we had better stop dragging it out."

"It has to be Weiss. This - us - it just doesn't work."

"I know." Weiss stepped back. "You should really be going, you don't want to miss the airship. And I think Nora might try to drag you away if you stay here too long."

"Yeah. That's kinda why I brought her." Ruby shuffled her feet. "Goodbye. Though we'll see each other again."

"Goodbye."

* * *

"Well I'm back." Jaune yelled as he walked into the apartment slamming the door behind him, the apartment had been empty for the past three days, and he wasn't expecting Ruby to be home until at least tomorrow. "I mean this is probably an empty apartment right now, but hey you never know." He walked into the hallway, dropping his gym bag on the pile of bags and packs that he and ruby let accumulate. "I got my ass kicked by the owner of the gym, again. He's tough as all hell for and old man. He used to be a huntsman though so I guess it's not too surprising." He turned into the kitchen and turned into the lounge. "And I am not alone. How did it go?"

Ruby raised her head from where she lay face down on the couch. "I told her she was pretty and that I love her and then I left." she buried her face in the couch cushions and reached for the bottle of wine she had placed next to the couch.

"So like every rom-com breakup?" Jaune said, attempting some humour to lighten the mood. When Ruby didn't respond he tried again. "That bad huh?"

"At least it's over now." There was a hint of bitterness in her voice. "Tell me I did the right thing?"

"You did the right thing." Jaune repeated back to her as he evaluated how much was left in the wine. "Although honestly I can't tell you if you did, you have to figure that out for yourself. I can tell you what I think though?"

"What do you think?" Ruby asked.

"That you did the right thing for now, and that if the time comes you can try again." Jaune said. "When did you start drinking this?"

"Don't let me do that." Ruby said into the couch cushions. "And like an hour ago."

"I'm just going to take this wine away now." Jaune said as he grabbed the bottle. "Let you sober up a bit. Do you want to watch a movie or something? Get some food maybe?"

"It's alright I have whiskey." Ruby pulled a flask out of her pocket that Jaune recognised as having belonged to Qrow. "My uncle was a smart man."

"He was not and I'll be taking that as well." Jaune said as he grabbed the flask out of Ruby's raised hand. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I feel awkward talking to you about this stuff." Ruby said. "Because you -"

"Because of Pyrrha? And because since then the closest I have been to dating was a few blind dates?" Jaune asked. "It's okay, I made my peace already. Who knows if she and I would have gone anywhere? No one. We both had hoped we would, but we never talked about it because we were idiots who thought we had time. You don't need to feel awkward. But you do need to talk about Weiss because this," He shook the flask which he still held. "Is not healthy. I can call Nora if you would rather talk to her."

"What is there to talk about? That I love Weiss? But I also hate how we ended up?" Ruby said as she lifted her head from the couch. "We just weren't right you know? Because when we worked it was great, and when it didn't it was bad. But I keep wondering if we could have worked past that again."

"Ruby, last time you fought you ran away to Vale." Jaune said as he moved to sit beside the couch. "And before that you both used Ren and Nora as relationship counselling. And if it were happen again who knows."

"We just argued, that's all."

"Why?"

"Because we are both too obsessed with our jobs." Ruby said. "She was always working as CEO and I was always hunting and we both wanted to see each other more and neither of us wanted to compromise."

"And will that change?" Jaune asked.

"Not for a long while, I enjoy hunting, I want to do as much as I can. I want to help people. And she is right to be as dedicated as she is." Ruby sighed. "When did you get so wise?"

"Age?" Jaune said with a smile.

Ruby frowned. "You're only two years older than me."

"Also I'm sober, that tends to help with wisdom and good decision making." Jaune pointed out. "Hey c'mon don't pout. You two had a good run, it just wasn't meant to be right now."

"Talking to you is a lot more fun when you aren't being smart as shit you know that right?" Ruby said.

"I'm always smart as shit." Jaune gave a lazy grin.

"I distinctly remember you not knowing what aura and semblances are." Ruby said as she pulled herself into a sitting position on the couch.

"And now I'm one of the most proficient Aura users in our generation. Some things just take time." Jaune said. "I'm starving, and I'm sure you need some food so I'm going to try make some toasted sandwiches."

"Will you leave the wine?"

"Absolutely not." Jaune said. "But you can help make sandwiches."

"What is going in them?" Ruby asked, standing up and walking towards the kitchen, stumbling slightly.

"I'm having cheese and ham and tomato."

"Do we have pineapple?"

"We might have a tin of it in the cupboard." Jaune said. "Why?"

"I'm going to put it in my toasted sandwich." Ruby said looking pleased with herself.

Jaune looked at her like she had grown another head. "That sounds disgusting."

"Ham and pineapple pizza is good though, same thing." Ruby said as she opened the cupboard for the tin of pineapple. "And frying pineapple up go with ham steaks."

"Okay ham and pineapple pizza is disgusting, and I don't know what they do on Patch but no-one fries pineapple to go with ham steaks." Jaune said as he searched through the fridge for the rest of the ingredients. "In fact, I am going to assume you are making all of this up because you are drunk."

"I'm not it's real and it's goooood!" Ruby said with a pout. "Why does no-one ever believe me?"

"Because here on the mainland we remember that pineapple is a fruit, and therefore does not get cooked."

"Tomatoes are a fruit." Ruby said pointing at the fruits in Jaune's hand. "Check and mate."

"Practically a vegetable." Jaune argued. "And that is not the point, the point is that cooked pineapple is an abomination."

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"You're mean." Ruby said as she sat down at the table to wrestle with the can opener.

"I'm also right." Jaune said as he took the can from her and opened the ring pull. "You really are drunk aren't you?"

"With a bit of luck yes." She said as she accepted the opened can back and pulled out a pineapple ring. "Want one?"

"No, and I think that once we have had food you should sleep, or just chill out or something." Jaune said.

"I'm pretty sure that after a breakup I am legally entitled to go out on the town." Ruby said after swallowing the pineapple. "Rebound and all that shit."

"Ten minutes ago you were near comatose on the couch because you were upset, I'm not sure that's a great idea." Jaune said as he put two sandwiches in the press. "How about watching a movie on the couch?"

"Can I drink?"

"Non-alcoholic beverages, yes." Jaune sighed.

"Are you going to let me leave the house?" Ruby asked.

"As your friend I have a responsibility not to let you do stupid shit because you're drunk." Jaune said as he smiled at her. "Sorry kiddo, that's the rules."

The kitchen was silent for a few minutes as Jaune continued to cook and Ruby fiddled with the can opener.

"Thank you."

"What for?" Jaune asked as he placed a plate in front of Ruby.

"Being a good friend." Ruby said as she reached for her sandwich. "For listening, and trying to stop me doing dumb shit."

Jaune looked at her for a few moments as she picked at her sandwich.

"Anytime Ruby."

* * *

 **As always shout out to Bryce for betaing.**

 **Just a couple of notes;**

 **First, this is the wrap up of the first 'arc' of the story, and things progress on from here.**

 **Second, I'm not sure when I'm going to update, hopefully within the next month, but Uni just started back and assignments a piling on.**

 **Third, if you missed it I also posted another Lancaster fic 'Kiss Me' a few days ago, you can see it on my profile page. It's pretty dark though, so fair warning.**


	6. Chapter 6

When you lived with someone you got used to them. The way they move, their voice, and their musical tastes. Their habits, ranging from the adorable (such as how Jaune always made sure to make enough coffee or tea that there was some left for Ruby), to the annoying (like how Ruby had plastered a poster of Grimm cross-sections onto the back of the toilet door) to the infuriating (like how Jaune seemed to shed hair everywhere and Ruby found herself pulling blond hairs off of her typically dark clothing).

And habits were something Jaune was musing about as he prepared to go to bed. Ruby had an hour ago when the film they were watching had finished, but Jaune had stayed up to do his emails. That was a habit of his of course, just like how leaving her light on as she fell asleep was one of Ruby's. She said the light made it easier to fall asleep, that it was a holdover from the war, sleeping huddled around campfires, or sleeping when she could in the day. Not that Jaune minded, he usually flicked her light off for her when he walked past her room, something she had said was alright. She needed the light on while she fell asleep, but once she was asleep turning it off was fine.

Except tonight, Ruby didn't seem to be fine, her usual gentle snoring was replaced by muttering and she tossed and turned. Jaune watched her for a couple of seconds before shaking himself, writing it off as just being an overly intense dream and moving to hit the light switch. Until Ruby yelled, "Leave them alone!" as her fingers scrabbled for purchase against her sheets

Ruby was dreaming of the acrid smoke and the blood-soaked battlefields of the war. The screeching of weapons and relentless Grimm and monsters who had plagued them over the course of the war, and finally of Salem and the torture she and the others had faced at her hands. The way pale fingers had ripped through flesh like tissue paper, and the burn of Cinder's fire. Of watching her friends be hurt and dying, while she was helpless to save them.

"Hey, Ruby, c'mon wake up." Jaune was yelling as he shook Ruby, concern etched over his face. He knew nightmares too well, he had suffered many of them over the years, and couldn't count the number of times he had woken drenched in sweat as someone stared at him.

"It's not real whatever - ah fuck!" Jaune reeled away from Ruby as her fist collided with his nose.

Ruby sat bolt upright in her bed, heart pounding and breathing heavily, mind racing the after images of her nightmare still flashing through it.

"You're awake thank the Gods," Jaune said as he stood back up. "You're okay wherever you saw you're fine. Whatever it was, it wasn't real. You're here you're in Vale, You're-"

"You're alive." Ruby launched herself at Jaune, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Alive. Not dead. It was just a nightmare. Just a nightmare."

Jaune nodded as he sat down on the edge of Ruby's bed while she still clung to him. Her heart was racing and he could feel it through both their shirts. "I'm alive, yes," Jaune said slowly, rubbing her back in small circles like so many others had done for him during the war.

"You woke me up," Ruby said, still breathing heavily. "You're alive and you woke me up. and I punched you I'm so sorry." She pulled away from the hug to check Jaunes face where she had hit him, feeling guilty for the bruise that was already forming.

"Don't worry about that." Jaune brushed Ruby's hands away as she touched the bruising. "I'm fine. It hurts a bit, but I've had worse. Are you okay?"

"Just a nightmare, it would have passed eventually." Ruby knelt back on her sheets. "You didn't have to wake me up." She stared into space. "But thank you."

"I know what the nightmares can be like, it's no problem," Jaune said. "Are you sure you're okay, it seemed intense?"

"I've had worse." Ruby repeated his words back to him and Jaune's heart froze. The leftover mental effects of the war had been the hardest for him to deal with, and he hated to think of his friend going through what he had.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really." Ruby said as she wrapped her arms around her knees.

"Okay," Jaune said as he stood up. "You sure you're going to be okay?"

"I might not sleep tonight, but I'll be fine." Ruby fiddled with the fabric of her pyjamas. "You really aren't going to press me about it? Because Weiss did a few times and Yang and it really just -"

"Made it worse? Yeah, I understand that."Jaune said, giving her a long look. "I've had my share of nightmares, the shit I dream about, reliving it isn't any more fun than having them. I'm not going to press you about this."

"You get nightmares?" Ruby's voice sounded small. "Like you still get them?"

"I used to," Jaune said softly. "Not often these days, but I did. I can talk with you about them when you want to, but I'm not going to push you. I know that doesn't help."

"Thanks," Ruby said as she watched Jaune stand up. "Can you stay with me for a little bit? I'm sorry it's silly but -"

"It's reassuring to have someone near right? Don't worry I get it." Jaune said as he sat back down and swung his legs onto the bed. "I'll stay here as long as you need me to." Jaune watched her carefully. "If you don't want to talk about it do you want to watch a movie or something? To distract yourself?"

Ruby nodded as she reached for her scroll and tapped it a few times, activating the Light Screen projector on her dresser. "A comedy?"

"Sounds good to me." Ruby said as she settled back against Jaune's shoulder, enjoying that he was just there, and the sense of security as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder

At some point during the film Jaune dozed off and Ruby switched to reading a book, listening to the rhythmic sounds of Jaune's breathing, his occasional snoring, and the low almost imperceptible whirring of his internal prosthesis, drawing comfort from his presence. Hating how she had dragged him into helping her, but still glad that he had offered to stay with her, it helped remind her that what had happened to them was over. That Salem was gone, that they were safe, all of them were. That what had happened wasn't going to happen again.

But even though she knew that they were safe, and everything was over, it hadn't stopped for her. The things she had seen and the things she had been forced to do still haunted her, chasing themselves around her mind and setting her on edge. But at least tonight, in the aftermath of her latest nightmare there was some comfort to draw from Jaune as he snored beside her.

And for that she was thankful.

* * *

Video game tournaments were becoming a sort of tradition in the apartment. Once a week when both were in Vale, usually on a Friday, Jaune and Ruby would find a video game, often one from their childhood, and compete to see who was the best. This week the pair were playing Dust Derby (Ruby's choice), sitting cross-legged on the floor, scrolls in hand as they slung insults at each other.

"Keep up grandpa!" Ruby yelled as her character sped past Jaunes, taking the lead for the first time all evening.

"I've won every game so far," Jaune mumbled, eyes never leaving the screen as he activated a powerup, using the resulting speed boost to reclaim his lead. "You just don't learn do you, those wheels are only good on ice terrain."

"Yeah well we'll get an ice terrain soon," Ruby said as Jaune sped across the finish line for his fifth consecutive victory. "The randomiser can't hate me forever. And anyway, this was the set up that always used to beat Yang and Qrow."

"They were letting you win."

Ruby scowled at him. "They were not, I would win fair and square."

"Ruby, I know you don't understand because you are a youngest child, but we older siblings have a code, you always let the younger ones win."Jaune said. He was the third oldest of eight, well versed in keeping his youngest siblings happy, and only playing video games properly with his two oldest sisters, who knew he was well good enough to beat them even without them letting him.

"Bullshit."

"It's true, ask Yang," Jaune said as he waited for the randomiser to select the next course. "It's code, especially if they're sick.

"I don't believe you." Ruby turned her face to the screen. "And if it is true, that's kinda mean. Oh look, ice!"

"Well, you should have some experience with that." Jaune said, a sly grin on his face as he neatly dodged Ruby's elbow.

"Dick."

"Bitch."

"Bitch who is going to kick your ass!" Ruby had her eye trained on the screen as the race began, easily taking the lead in the first few seconds.

And win she did, by a landslide. As Jaune had pointed out her cart's set up was much better suited to the icy terrain and her victory had been all but assured as her cart had zipped around the track while Ruby swayed in time to the game's upbeat music.

"Yeah suck it!" Ruby dropped her scroll and jumped up for a victory dance

"Well done," Jaune said with a mock bowed after his cart crossed the finish line. "I'm gonna go make some coffee because even though I wasn't hurt, I'm exhausted from my last mission and I feel like you aren't going to want to stop playing anytime soon."

"Not really no,"Ruby said as she followed Jaune into the kitchen. "Well I do want to play more Dut Derby, but I also want to talk to you." She took a deep breath. "About the nightmare."

"You want to talk to me about the nightmare?" Jaune repeated to her slowly, paused in the middle of their kitchen, coffee pot in hand.

"Do you not want to-"

"No, I absolutely do want to talk about it if you are up to it," Jaune said as he pulled out a chair at the table. "Take a seat, where do you want to start?"

"I'm not sure how to."

Jaune thought for a minute as he busied himself with the coffee. "How about at the start, when it all began."

She took a deep breath, hand's twisting in her lap as she spoke. "I suppose about six months after the war ended. It wasn't bad at first, and I could shake them off most of the time. But they kept getting worse, and -" She choked on her words, ashamed at admitting her own weakness.

"How long has it been this bad?" Jaune asked as he sat down at the kitchen table setting mugs and the coffee pot between them. "You don't have to tell me, but I want to help."

"It's been on and off since the war," Ruby said as she stared at the coffee, refusing to meet his eyes. "It's better sometimes, usually when I'm on a mission. I think having something constructive to occupy me makes the nightmares less frequent. And Weiss was good with helping me through them."

"But you never sought help."

"How can I Jaune? I'm the hero of the war, I'm the one who stopped Salem. There is an expectation that I'm strong, that I'm better than everyone else. If I sought help for this I'd be showing everyone I was weak. I have to be stronger than this. I should be stronger than this." Ruby said frustration in her voice as her fingers traced the pattern of a knot in the table. "I am stronger than this."

"You don't always have to be strong you know that?" Jaune said as he looked at her. She looked tiny with her hunched shoulders and bowed head. "You know who told me that?"

"Everyone?" Ruby attempted to distract him with sarcasm.

"You." Jaune said. "Look at me. You told me that during the war, you told me that after Pyrrha died. Everyone told me that. Pyrrha, my parents, Ren, Nora, everyone. And honestly, you were all right. Sometimes there is strength in weakness."

"Yeah but you don't understa-"

"Yes I do." Jaune cut her off and met her eyes as she looked at him. "I spent a year and a half trying to die because I couldn't make it stop. I had - still have - nightmares, I was constantly paranoid, I was hallucinating Grimm just outside my field of vision. I had a panic attack because there were fireworks in a village I stayed in and it reminded me of having guns blasting in my ears constantly. And I'm still fucking terrified that it's all going to start again, that the war that we fought wasn't enough. But I also learned that I had to get help, and I did, I started seeing a therapist because that's what I had to do, I ended up on medication because that's the only thing that has helped me with managing the anxiety. I learned that for me there was strength in the weakness. The PTSD, it's just another fight, and it's one a lot of us are in. It's one your uncle was in and he didn't fight well. You keep trying to solve things like he did with alcohol. You might not have noticed it, but half the time your first reaction to a problem is to drink. And Yang told me you are overly cautious like he was, that you keep trying to buy Serafina weapons at to teach her how to fight. She's just a kid."

"My uncle was right!" Ruby yelled as she glared at Jaune. "He was right and everything he did protected me!"

"And it wasn't healthy," Jaune said, keeping his tone even. "He was paranoid, overly so, and his coping methods were even less healthy, and that was something you told me during the war as well." Jaune leaned back in his chair. "I'm sorry, I took us off topic."

Ruby sat quietly for a moment, staring into her coffee, eyes wide with shock. "Am I really acting like my uncle?"

"Only a bit."

"But still more than I should be."

"By a long shot yeah," Jaune said before taking a deep breath. "Are you okay?"

"I hadn't realised," Ruby said. "I knew that the nightmares were bad, and the paranoia and fear were things he and Dad dealt with. That Dad was over protective because of what happened to Mum, and that Qrow drank because of the things he had seen, and because he couldn't reconcile his involvement with the maidens and Ozpin."

"But when the behaviours manifested in you, you rationalised it as coping?" Jaune said.

"Yeah. How did you?"

"It's how I rationalised my self-destructive tendencies, as being what I needed to do to make it all stop," Jaune said, running a hand through his hair. "And it took Ren and Nora telling me that what I was doing was not the best way to cope for me to get help and learn other ways to do so."

"And did it help?"

"I'm alive and inside the kingdom half the year so I guess so?" Jaune said, voice thick with emotion as he admitted things he hated telling even to himself. "Sometimes it helps even just to talk to someone about it."

"And I can talk to you?"

"If you feel comfortable doing so yes, but you might benefit more talking to a professional."

Ruby took a deep breath. "Because the thing is, I don't just dream about what happened, or imagine it happening again, I see it happening and things are so much worse. More people are dying, or being hurt. And that night I had to watch as Salem, as she lined everyone up and she killed them all in horrible, horrible ways. And I couldn't stop her. I could try and I could try but nothing I ever did was enough to save anyone. She just went down the line and she kept killing." Ruby stopped to take a deep breath. "It's a recurring one."

Silence hung between the pair as Jaune thought over what Ruby had said for a minute. "Is that the worst of them?"

"No. But I don't want to talk about them right now." Ruby said as she rested on her elbows. "I don't want to think about it anymore for a while. Talking about it takes a lot out of me."

"Do you want to play some more Dust Derby?"

Ruby gave a small smile. "Yeah. And Jaune?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you."

* * *

 **As always, shout out to Bryce, the story would not be half as good without him to bounce ideas off of.**


	7. Chapter 7

Where Vale had situated itself within walls and natural barriers, Vacuo had buried under the ground, and Atlas had built massive sky scrapers, Mistral had defended itself by building on and into the steep cliffs that seemed to rise straight from the lakes. Or the rich parts did at least. Grimm rarely climbed to high into the mountains, and machine gunners and huntsmen made short work of flying Grimm. Small homes with terraced gardens lined up and down the mountains and an intricate system of cable cars connected the mountains.

Jaune was standing in front of one of these houses, all dark wood and dusky pink stone with flowers in the window boxes. The building almost felt like a second home to him, he mused as he lifted the heavy door knocker.

"Jaune's here!" The door was ripped open to reveal a tall older woman with sparkling green eyes.

"Yeah well, bring him in." A gruff voice yelled from inside.

The interior of the house was much the same as the outside, with a blend of the rustic and the modern to it's character. Though it's halls rang with emptiness, where once they would have been filled with laughter and the din of hunters in training.

"You've gotten skinny," The man said as he eyed Jaune up. "Ren not feeding you enough?"

"I moved out, and I haven't lost any weight." Jaune smiled. He never had lost weight, but the old man perpetually thought he was too skinny.

"She's out back son." the man said as Jaune passed through his lounge. "Been awhile since she's had any visitors, she'll be glad to see you."

"She always is." Jaune said with a weak smile. It was a tradition for them, ignoring the goliath in the room.

It was a short walk through the house, through an empty hall past empty rooms. Once the house would have been filled with the clamour of a young huntress at the top of her field, but now it rang with the sound of silence.

He felt a pang of guilt as he sat down in the yard, a small patch of grass and a porch. A small fountain over to the side, fed by the waterfall that ran through the mountain city.

"Hey there Pyrrha," Jaune said as he settled down in front of the stone, reaching out to run his fingers over the engravings before slipping off the bronze band he wore and setting it on top of the stone. It had been cast to look like a smaller version of her circlet, they had all gotten them. A way to remember her. "Been awhile huh? Since I last came and visited. I've been busy, well everyone has been, life -" Jaune cut himself off. "Life moves on."

He stopped for a moment and looked around the small yard, imagining what It must have been like for Pyrrha growing up. Training there day and night, honing her skills, becoming the best. It hadn't been enough, being the best was never enough he had learned. You just had to survive.

"Everyone sends their love of course, we all still miss you," Jaune said as he picked at the grass in front of him. "I think we always will. That's how these things work, right? A big lonely hole that you can't really fill up. I guess that's good though, it keeps us human."

The stone sat silent while a creek gurgled and the air hung thick, like a lightning storm was coming. He hoped there wasn't, he didn't want his flight delayed.

"I have plenty of news of course. You remember me telling you about Weiss and Ruby?" He paused for a moment, knowing no response was coming. It didn't bother him. Being able to talk to the memory of his partner was enough, a sort of catharsis. "They did break up, so Nora would have owed you twenty lien. Do you remember that night? In our dorm after Yang snuck alcohol on campus? The four of us made silly bets. You and Nora bet on Weiss and Ruby, she thought they would be a fine couple, but you were convinced they would break up. You were pretty drunk that night, and you were blushing redder than your hair." Jaune paused for a minute to compose himself. "It seems like such a silly detail now, but I remember it so clearly, you and Nora yelling, and Ren joining in because goddamn if he isn't more vocal when drunk. Alcohol does weird things to people."

"Ah well, I moved out of Ren and Nora's two month's ago now. I'm flatting with Ruby, so don't worry, I'm not in any danger of starvation." Jaune had a slight grin. "Flatting with her is going pretty well. It's good to be around someone who isn't acting all coupleish all the time. I mean neither of us are particularly good cooks like Ren, so that sucks, but we manage. There are lots of cookies and strawberries."

"Though there is news on the annoyingly sickeningly sweet couple front, Ren is ring hunting. He dragged me along to help. Which went about as well as you can imagine, they all look the same to me. Ruby said that Nora is also ring hunting, so Ruby and I have a running bet that they propose at the same time. I stand to make 50 lien when they do. You would have told us to knock that off by now I think. That we're getting a bit too old to be acting like teenagers." Jaune said, a smile curling the edge of his lips. "I suppose at twenty-three I'm supposed to be past all of that, but we were robbed of what was supposed to be the best years of our lives. You more than anyone." He was silent for a moment as he thought. "I think we have earned the right to act like kids a bit longer."

"And speaking of kids, Yang and Blake want another one. Sera's about to graduate kindy and start elementary school - you remember me telling you about Serafina right? The little girl they adopted? Anyway, they want another one, a sibling for Sera. That and Yang loves being a mum. You were right about that too, that Yang would love being a mum." Jaune paused. "You always were right about almost everything, and keeping an eye on us all. I hope you're still doing that, I can always use an extra set of eyes, I seem to get injured so easily." Jaune joked. "I'd better go though, I can't talk forever. My mission was pretty hectic, and I haven't eaten yet, so if I stay out here too long, your mother might drag me inside. I'll see you when I next drop by okay?"

He brushed the dirt from his pants as he stood up, stretching his arms above him and revelling in the feeling of his joints popping.

"So Ren and Nora are getting married then?" Pyrrha's mother said from where she leant against the door frame. Jaune speaking to Pyrrha was as much for her as it was for him. She missed her daughter dearly, but hearing people speak to her made her feel closer to Pyrrha. "About damn time."

"Seems like it Thetis," Jaune said as he raked a hand through his hair. "Been waiting for this for a long time."

"You're staying for dinner right?"

"If you'll have me."

"That wasn't really a question," Thetis said as she grabbed Jaune's wrist and pulled him into the house. "You're helping me cook."

"Yes ma'am."

"Don't be a smartass." She sighed. "Shame about Weiss and Ruby."

"What happened?" Peleus yelled from the lounge, he was Pyrrha's stepfather, having raised her from the age of three.

"They broke up," Jaune yelled back. "About a month ago now."

Peleus just grunted.

"But Ren and Nora are going to get married." Jaune said, supplementing the lull in conversation as Thetis handed him an onion and a knife.

"Bout damn time," Peleus said. "You had better convince them to come visit me before the wedding."

"I'm sure they'll be by."Jaune said with a smile.

The dinner was simple fare, Carbonara with lamb cooked in a tomato based sauce, eaten as they watched the sun set behind the mountains on the other side of the valley before Jaune bid Pyrrha's parents farewell, insisting that he had to get to the Air docks before his flight left for Vale.

* * *

Despite what she might say to the contrary, Ruby Rose hated to be alone. No, that wasn't quite right. She didn't hate being alone, but sometimes she just needed someone else to be around, someone to sit in companionable silence with. And as she sat in her near silent apartment, listening to the gentle hum of the fridge, she really needed someone to be near.

She had passed over the whiskey in favour of some tea Blake said was good (Though unlike Blake she filled it with milk and sugar, something blake would say was a sin), and had shut off the light screen after flicking through all the channels. She was now listlessly thumbing through her scroll, searching for anything that might catch her fancy.

It had been two weeks since she'd last had a drink, one week since she'd last seen Jaune, and one day since she had started therapy. Since she had had the courage to call a therapist and have an urgent assessment appointment.

And she felt weak.

Despite Jaune's assertions that there was strength in the weakness, she felt weak. Like she shouldn't need therapy. That she should be stronger.

She had addressed this with the therapist, a bear faunus named Eurwen. Eurwen had said this was a normal feeling, that your mind was failing you. Eurwen had asked her if she ever blamed her body when she was hurt, ever declared that her body should have been stronger. When Ruby shook her head, feeling all too small on the blue patterned couch, Eurwen had told her that the mind was the same. That it could be damaged or get sick, but it was the same as the body, not it's fault.

Ruby supposed that there was some small comfort in that.

But it didn't stop her feeling weak. And wishing that the tea in her mug was something stronger.

 _Get up, do something else._

She could hear Weiss' voice in her head, scolding her like when they were still at Beacon. _Occupy yourself, stop moping. Or study._

Reluctantly, Ruby pulled herself into a sitting position on the couch. _Look for something that needs to be done._

"I already did everything." She said aloud. "And now I'm talking to myself. First sign of craziness and all."

"Second is looking for hairs on the palms of your hands," Jaune said from where he rested against the edge of the door frame. She hadn't heard him come in, and he stood there with an easy grin on his face. "How have you been?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Ruby asked. "I'm okay, I guess. How was the mission."

Jaune shrugged as he dropped his backpack on the floor. "Same old, same old. Kill some Grimm, get some Lien. I stopped by Pyrrha's parents on the way home, and they would have forced me to the hospital if i was hurt. They say hi, and that you should visit. I think they're lonely. I guess it can be when you only have a small family." Jaune said as he walked over to the fridge, grabbing a can of lemonade. "Seriously though, how have you been?"

Ruby pulled her knees up to her chest. "I went to therapy."

"And?"

"And it was scary."

There was a pop as Jaune opened his can. "You don't have to talk if you don't want to."

"Good because I don't." Ruby stared at her hands, picking at the shimmery red polish she had painted on her nails the night before.

"Do you need a hug?"

"What?"

"Your down, hugs help sometimes. Do you need a hug?" Jaune said with a grin. "You've known me how long? You had to know this was coming?"

"Yeah," Ruby said, standing up and walking over to him. "Hugs are good." She sniffed. "Even if you stink."

"I did just get off an airship," Jaune said before taking a long sip of his drink. "But I'm glad that I can help. Even just a bit."

Ruby nodded. "Hey Jaune?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you feel weak when you started therapy?" Ruby looked up at him searching his face for answers.

"Yeah." Jaune's face was stone, blue eyes staring into the distance as he remembered his first session, trying not to be recognised at the therapist's office.

"Thanks."

"For what."

"Making me feel normal." Ruby pressed her ear against his chest, listening to his heartbeat and prosthetics whir, listening to the sounds of life.

"Anytime Rubes."

* * *

So, this was unfortunately a late update, I was about halfway through the chapter a month and a half ago, and then my HDD died, deleting everything. I lost a lot of things (some very important), and I had a lot of schoolwork on my plate at the same time, so this got pushed until I had time for it. But now I am finished with my bachelors degree! So I have time now! you know, untill postgrad starts. As always, a massive shout out to Bryce for Betaing.


	8. Chapter 8

There were days when Jaune Arc felt like his world was collapsing inwards, where he felt that everything that he had struggled for was for nothing. When he wished for nothing more than a swift death so he didn't have to face his troubles any longer.

And then there were the days that were good, when he had never felt more alive. Where he looked around and saw all the good in the world, saw the changes he and his generation had made. Saw the safety and life he had helped preserve.

Today was one of the second kind, the kind of day's he wouldn't trade for the world. He'd been woken up that morning by the sun streaming through his curtains. He'd woken up feeling safe, hearing Ruby in the kitchen as she yelped after stubbing her toe. It had always amazed him how someone so elegant and in control in battle could be so clumsy out of it. It was almost cute.

He shook himself as he climbed out of bed. Ruby was a friend, nothing more. She wasn't cute, she was an eighth sister. And an annoying one at that.

"Jaune you awake?" Ruby yelled from the kitchen.

"Yeah?" He yelled back as he made his way to the kitchen.

"Did you finish the milk last night?" Ruby asked as she shook an empty milk jug and gave him an accusatory glare. "Because I was going to have cereal but apparently I can't."

"Just have toast." Jaune said as he rubbed sleep from his eyes.

"There is no milk for coffee either." Ruby said.

"It won't kill you to drink coffee without milk."

Ruby glared at him. Still in her pyjamas and with her hair in a half ponytail she didn't look fearsome, but Jaune knew her too well. Her morning coffee was serious business, and there was no way she was going to just drink it without milk. "Yeah, but it might kill you."

"There's a dairy on the corner, just go buy some." Jaune said as he poured himself some coffee from the pot. Casual death threats were normal for pre-coffee Ruby he had learned.

"I'm not dressed."

"It's Saturday morning, no-one's going to care."

"I also didn't finish the milk." Ruby said, determined that she would not be leaving the apartment.

"There's a can of coconut cream in the cupboard, use that." Jaune said, taking a sip of his coffee.

"You disgust me."

"It's not that bad," Jaune said. "I actually might have that now."

Ruby folded her arms. "Just go buy some milk."

"But I don't want milk."

"Jaune!" Ruby almost yelled. "For fuck's sake, just go buy milk."

Jaune glanced over at her. "How about we both go?"

"It's your fuck up."

"And you're the one who wants milk," Jaune said, making eye contact. "I can do this all day."

"Fine! I'll go put on shoes!" Ruby said, throwing her hands up in the air as Jaune took another sip of his coffee. "I hate you."

"Love you too!"

It wasn't long before they were walking to the dairy, Jaune's flip flops slapping against the pavement as Ruby sauntered beside him.

"Oh cheer up it's a nice morning," Jaune said, a grin on his face. "Look the sun's out, birds are singing."

"Go eat a dick," Ruby said half-heartedly, she couldn't stay mad at him for long over something small and she hated it. Something about the mischievous glint in his eyes made it to difficult. "I can't believe I'm wearing pyjamas in public. I don't know what they do where you're from, but Pyjamas are not acceptable in public here."

"Bare feet is also acceptable back home, in certain situations," Jaune responded cheerily. "Did you decide what you're wearing tonight by the way? You can't just say you're not going, Ren and Nora would be devastated."

That was the other reason Jaune was happy this morning, Ren and Nora's engagement party was that night. To him it felt like his generation were finally beginning to move on, To move past everything that had happened to them. There had been other marriages sure, Yang and Blake, and Velvet and Yatsuhashi. But Ren and Nora were his team, his family. Their engagement felt more personal to him.

"I bought a dress," Ruby said, perking up a little. "I'm not drinking though."

"No?"

"No." Ruby said with a sense of finality. "I might not be addicted like Qrow was, but I have issues with alcohol. And it's Ren and Nora, there'll be hash brownies no matter what, I'd rather have those."

Jaune rolled his eyes. "That sounds like sound logic."

"Well, I want to have fun Jaune," Ruby said as she kicked a rock. The street was empty except for them. "The corner store will be open right?"

"I mean, it should be, it says 24/7." Jaune said as they came to a stop outside it.

"We should get strawberry milk as well." Ruby said as she walked into the store.

"Why?"

"I feel like it." Ruby opened the fridge door and handed Jaune two bottles. "You want anything?"

"Do they have lime?"

Ruby turned her head and stared at him. "What?"

"Lime flavoured milk," Jaune said. "We have it back home all the time. It's good."

"That sounds disgusting."

"It's my favourite flavour."

"You're disgusting."

"Say's the girl who likes pineapple on pizza."

Ruby glared at him. "That is different and delicious. You just happen to be in possession of defective taste buds."

"I resent that statement," Jaune said. "Do they have it?"

"No."

"Nowhere in Vale does." Jaune sighed. "Something I miss from my childhood. Rouge used to buy them when we were sick."

"To make you puke?" Ruby asked with a smirk.

"If you're going to keep ragging on lime milk I'm gonna just leave you here," Jaune said. "I mean I didn't even need to come, you're the one who wanted milk."

" _You finished it!_ " Ruby hissed. "I can't believe you."

Jaune rolled his eyes as he walked to the counter. "Grab some chips?"

Ruby shrugged noncommittally as she grabbed a packet of chips from the stand beside the counter. "Chicken okay with your broken taste buds."

"It's my favourite." Jaune said with a smile.

"Okay not completely broken." Ruby smiled back while the shopkeeper's eyes darted between them, like he was trying to solve a puzzle.

"So how long have you two been dating?" He eventually asked as he rung up their items.

"We're not." Ruby said flatly at the same time as Jaune said "Ew, her?"

Their walk home was uneventful, though both squinted as the sun hit their eyes.

"I don't know what he was thinking, I mean, we don't look like a couple right?" Ruby later said when they returned home, after taking a hefty swig of strawberry milk straight from the bottle.

"A man and a woman walked into his store in pyjamas while bickering to buy milk." Jaune pointed out. "I mean I'd probably think something similar."

"Well you didn't have to say 'ew'." Ruby said, looking away from him.

"Well what was I supposed to say?" Jaune asked as he leant against the counter.

"We're just flatmates? Just friends?" Ruby suggested. "Anything other than 'ew'."

Jaune glanced at her out of the corner of his eye leaning against the kitchen table and drinking straight from the bottle while the sun caught the red highlights in her hair. She looked like she'd lived there her whole life, like the war had never happened and she'd been able to just be happy. But at least she had that chance to be happy now he mused.

"Noted."

The rest of the day passed slowly, the pair lazing around while they waited for Ren and Nora's engagement party to tick around.

"Is it a fancy bar?" Ruby asked as she pulled herself into an upright position on the couch. "For the party?"

"Why?" Jaune stopped as he walked through the kitchen. "They hired a small event room."

"So I know how much makeup and what shoes I need."

Jaune gave her a long look as he thought for a minute. "It's not super fancy, but everyone is going to be there."

"Eh, they've seen me covered in blood, they can handle seeing me with no makeup." Ruby said as she lay back down on the couch.

"Well, I'll just wear makeup to make up for it," Jaune said, smiling as he heard her laugh from the other room. "It won't be the first time."

"You're an egg." Ruby walked into the kitchen. "We've got a few hours right?"

"Two." Jaune corrected her. "And we're walking remember. So that'll take half an hour."

"We can be a little late right?" Ruby asked.

Jaune nodded. "Velvet and Yatsu will be there early anyway, Yatsu is helping Ren doing some of the setup. So it won't be like we're the only ones there."

"Yeah but showing up early is still awkward," Ruby said, fingers barely tracing the grain of the cabinet wood. "I suppose I should go get ready, have a shower and all that."

"Don't use all the hot water."

"When have I ever used all the hot water?" Ruby asked.

"Yesterday."

"True." Ruby looked slightly proud of herself. "I won't do it again today."

Jaune watched her as she walked off down the hall. "Sure you won't."

"Is that all you're wearing?" Ruby asked Jaune as she leant against the doorframe of his room. "I mean I'm not complaining, it looks good on you."

"Huh?" He looked up from adjusting the sleeves of his soft grey shirt. He had them rolled above his elbows, exposing some of his scars. "It's warm out, and we'll be with family. And at some point I'll probably lose it, if this goes anything like how our parties used to."

"And walking home?" Ruby raised one eyebrow.

"Alcohol blanket." He said. "I mean I'll pay for it tomorrow sure, but I'm going to have fun as you put it." He gave her a smile as he looked her up and down. "That dress suits you."

"You think?" Ruby smiled as she did a spin, letting the rose patterned lace of the knee length skirt spin out. "It was the first thing I tried on when I went shopping. And it fit so I got it. Also, the skirt does the twirly thing so I love it."

"Well it looks great," Jaune said. "I'll have to dance with you so you get lots of spinning in."

"I'll stand on your feet and break your toes," Ruby said. "And these heels are not made for dancing." Ruby stuck out her left foot showing off the 4-inch stiletto, knowing full well that they would eventually be abandoned for bare feet. "Buuuut my legs look amazing."

Jaune nodded in agreement as he picked through his collection of leather cuffs, before finding a brown one with round gold studs to cover the worst of the scarring on his right wrist. "I can teach you how to dance."

"You tried and failed during the war." Ruby reminded him.

"I'll try again." He said, his smile reaching his eyes. "No weapons in that handbag?"

"Noooooo . . ." Ruby said as she opened the clutch. "Not even my throwing knives from Vacuo."

"I'm proud of you." He said as he crossed the room to stand in front of her, still slightly surprised that her head reached his nose rather than his chin, despite knowing she was wearing heels. One of the habits she had told him her therapist was trying to break her out of was carrying weapons when she didn't need to.

"I'm still a little on edge," Ruby said. "But this is going to be a fun night. And there is no threat. My anxieties are telling me there is, but there isn't." She said it with unwavering certainty, her eyes darting up to meet Jaunes. "I'll be fine."

"Good," Jaune said with a smile before offering Ruby his arm. "Shall we set off to the party Miss Rose."

"I think we shall Mr Arc." Ruby said as she linked her arm in his as they headed out of their apartment.

The venue was in a posh hotel in Vale's party district filled with glittering lights and imported Mistrali panelling. The room they were celebrating in wasn't overly large, but there was a balcony and private bar.

"You're here!" Nora pounced on Ruby like an excitable pink puppy. "Ohhhh you look amazing."

"I should be the one telling you that." Ruby held Nora at an arm's length, studying the pink playsuit. "And I should be telling you congratulations."

"Eh, we are practically married anyway." Nora bounced back on her heels. "This is just like, making it official! Ren baked by the way, so if you want that there's plenty to go around." She gave Ruby a wink. "Come in, sit down have fun. I mean there's only six of us here now but more are showing up. Weiss is even going to pop in for a bit, she's in Vale signing a trade deal - Sorry!" Nora paused. "Sensitive topic."

"It's fine!" Ruby brushed off Nora's concerns. "It's a celebration, if we can't cooperate for a few hours then we aren't acting like adults."

"Well said." Ren appeared by Nora's shoulder, a smile on his face. "It's been too long since we've seen you two."

"Well missions and all," Jaune said with an easy smile. "As Ruby said, congratulations."

"Thanks," Ren said. "Turns out she was going to propose at the same time. Surprising no one."

"Well, you two are joined at the hip after all," Ruby said. "Velvet is here right, I haven't seen her in months."

"With Yatsu by the food table." Nora pointed to one corner of the room, where sure enough Velvet was sitting with her husband. "Go chat, more people are going to arrive soon."

Jaune tapped the back of Ruby's arm. "I'm going to go grab some drinks, what would you like?"

"Lemonade thanks." Ruby said, giving him a smile.

"It's been forever since I saw you." Velvet said as Ruby sat down opposite her. "I heard about you and Weiss, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be, we were never going to last. Everyone knew that." Ruby brushed off Velvet's comment. "How's Beacon?"

Since the end of the war, Velvet had become first involved in the rebuilding of Beacon Academy, and then in it's day to day running, filling the role Glynda once had, as Glynda was the new Headmistress. "Good good, Our student intake is almost at what it was before the war!" Velvet's eyes lit up as she spoke about her work. "I mean it's hard work, keeping everything running smoothly with so many students, but I love it. And Yatsu is coming on next semester to run combat classes because we need more staff."

Yatsuhashi nodded. "It will be hard work, but I'm looking forward to it."

"This the academy?" Jaune asked as he sat down on Ruby's right side, sliding her drink in front of her. "I hope you don't get too many students like me."

"You'd be surprised." Velvet muttered, taking a sip of her drink.

"She gets a lot of applicants who have never attended combat school before," Yatsuhashi explained. "And not all of them are like Jaune with a powerful, well-known bloodline."

"Sorry bout that." Jaune gave a relaxed smile.

"We'd be dead if you hadn't," Velvet shrugged, stirring her drink. "And I mean, you let these kids think they can do anything which as a teacher we try to inspire to be like that. "

Jaune nodded along. "Maybe I'll try retiring as a teacher when I'm older then."

"Don't it's a thankless job," Velvet shook her head. "All that paperwork and asshole kids."

"You love it." Yatsuhashi pointed out.

"Yeah I do." Velvet said with a smile on her face. "I wouldn't trade my kids for the world, they're amazing. Also photos!" She waved her scroll in the air. "Remind me to take some of the pair of you."

"I'm sure you will." Ruby smiled. Since the war Velvet had carefully documented her friends lives with photographs, collecting them in huge albums accessible online to her friends.

"Just make sure you get our good sides right Velv?" Yang dropped down into the chair beside Ruby, a glass of wine in hand.

"I'm sorry she had like two wines on the airship over already." Blake leant against the back of her wife's chair.

"I have no child for 12 hours I am going to fucking well enjoy that." Yang tipped her head back to look into her wife's eyes.

"And I'm staying sober to look after this one," Blake said, patting Yang on the shoulder. "You know how she is. And one of us needs to have a clear mind for the airship home tomorrow."

They continued chatting like that for a few hours, bringing more chairs and tables into the circle ass more guests arrived. First Neptune with a weary Sage and Scarlet who had just finished a mission, the Neon and Flynt who never missed a party. Weiss arrived about an hour in, and Ren passed Ruby a brownie before toasting her with his own. Eventually, they were inebriated enough that their sense of shame faded away and Jaune led the charge to the dance floor, while Weiss gave a rendition of a song from their early teens using a table as a stage. The party seemed to pass in a blur of alcohol and noise and lights for Jaune before he found himself sitting on one of the barstools, staring into the depths of his drink with Ruby sitting beside him, seemingly preoccupied with a simple scroll game

"Hey Jaune." Ruby tugged at Jaune's sleeve.

"Yeah Rubes?" He said, his speech slurring as he swung his head round to look at her. He'd lost track of how much he had drank, placing his trust in Yatsuhashi and Blake that they would cut him off when he became too intoxicated. It was heading towards the end of the night and most people had gone home. He could see Blake softly stroking a crying Yang's hair in the corner, Velvet dozing against Yatsuhashi, and Ren and Nora making out in one of the booths. The other's had left earlier citing having had enough for the night or flights they needed to catch, so only those with accommodation in Vale remained. The bartender was messing with his phone while he waited for the partiers to disperse or bar open hours to end.

Ruby stared back at him, the pupil of her right eye blown out be the drugs and dim lighting, and her eye patch had a piece of ribbon Ren had found tied to the band. "You're cute."

"You told me that." Jaune held his hands in front of his face, trying to count his fingers. "Like, like 10 times. Maybe more. I only have 10 fingers."

"Asshole." Ruby turned her face away from him in indignation.

"What?"

"You answered wrong."

"How was I supposed to answer?" Jaune asked, his brain desperately trying to connect the dots of what he'd done wrong.

"You're meant to tell me I'm cute in return." Ruby said as she brushed her hair behind her ears.

"I thought you knew that."

"What?"

"That you're cute," Jaune said. "Like insanely cute. Like fluffy bear cute."

"Stop sucking up."

"I'm not," Jaune took a long sip of his beer. "You are cute."

"You really think so?" Ruby leant against Jaune's arm. "You aren't just being nice."

"If I was just being nice you would break my wrist." Jaune said, avoiding looking at Ruby.

"You'd heal." She said.

"It would still hurt," Jaune said. "You're being uncharacteristically fellsy."

"Jaune I'm high as shit I can't be held responsible for what I say or do." Ruby closed her eyes and put more weight on Jaune's arm.

"Do you want to go outside, get some fresh air?" Jaune asked, before downing the end of his drink. "I could sure as hell use some."

Ruby just nodded as she stood up, slipping her hand into Jaune's as he led her out to the balcony, not wanting to lose him despite the room being near empty now and there was no crowd for her to get lost in. She wasn't sure why, but the contact made her feel safer, more secure.

"This is good." Ruby said after taking a deep breath of the cold night air and lacing her fingers with Jaune's.

"Good," Jaune said, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "You know, I never learned the Valean names for the constellations."

"Aren't they the same in all the kingdoms?" Ruby said as she stared up at the night sky, picking out familiar constellations _Huntress, Death Stalker, The King._

Jaune shook his head. "The rural areas use different names, relating to the time of year. The Farmers appear during the harvest," He pointed at a cluster of 7 stars. "They used to be what told us when to harvest. Now we have technology for that, but tradition remains."

Ruby squinted at the sky. "We call that the Seven Sisters. The legends say they were the most beautiful women to ever live, and the most deadly."

"Reminds me of someone I know." Jaune muttered, glad when Ruby seemed to ignore it.

"They toppled corrupt government and battled Grimm according to the Legends, allowing their brother to form the Kingdom of Vale in the safe zone they created." Ruby continued.

"Why didn't they form Vale themselves?"

"The sister's hated each other." Ruby smiled, remembering how as a child she had asked her father the same question. "Couldn't rule together, none would let the other rule alone. So the brother formed the kingdom in the area made safe by the sister's competitions," She paused. "I always liked that story."

"Fair enough." Jaune said as he disentangled their hands and moved to lean on the balcony railing.

"Do you think a fall from here would kill me?" Ruby mused aloud as she leant on the railing beside him. "You don't need to be worried, I'm just curious."

"Maybe," Jaune rubbed his chin as he looked at the drop. "Would depend on how you landed."

Ruby nodded as she once again leant against him, this time more for warmth than for support. "Awesome."

"I mean it would still be dangerous." Jaune subconsciously wrapped an arm around Ruby's shoulders, pulling her closer to himself.

"Yeah, but it's interesting," Ruby said. "You don't have to worry about me though."

"No?"

"No," Ruby said. "I'm happy for the moment."

They stood like that for a while, his arm wrapped around her and the cool night air pulling at the edges of their clothing, just enjoying staring out into the night, watching as partiers stumbled home along cobblestone streets and smiling as they caught the occasional snippet of drunken song.

"Hey Jaune?" Ruby twisted out of under Jaune's arm.

"Yeah?" He turned to face her, concern etched over his face.

"I want to try something." Ruby said as she took a step closer to him, placing her hands on his chest and standing on her tip toes, unsure of her own actions, but knowing that now it was too late to back out.

"Yeah?" He felt his breath hitch in his throat, both incredibly sure and unsure of what was to come next.

Though that melted away as she gently pressed her lips to his, ever so softly. He felt his heart skip a beat as his mind raced, confused over what she was doing and why he seem to be enjoying it. She pulled away abruptly, as though she was second guessing her actions, unsure of what she had just done.

"Sorry." She squeaked out as she stared at her shoes.

"Don't be." Jaune said softly, still trying to process what she had done, trying to process his own reaction. Surprising himself in wishing she hadn't stopped.

"I was just testing a theory." She mumbled ignoring him. She didn't want to tell him the truth, that him standing there face lit up the street lights had brought forward feelings she had been trying to squash for weeks now. Infatuation she kept telling herself. It would pass like most of her crushes. "Wanted to see if it would be any different to when I was eighteen I'm sorry I won't do that agai-"

She was cut off as he took a step towards her, and gently cupped the side of her face before kissing her, more forcefully than she had him. He shocked even himself, unsure of why he felt the need to kiss her back. When he was sober he would blame it on the alcohol, claim that it was nothing more than that. It was her turn to be taken by surprise, to softly melt into the kiss as her muddled brain observed that kissing him now was very different to when she was a teenager. There was a spark now, that made her want to continue, that made her hope the moment wouldn't end.

"What was that?" She asked after he broke the kiss.

"Just testing a theory." He said as he leant back against the balcony railing, desperately trying to ignore as his heart raced in his chest and his prosthesis whirred as it kept up. _Why had he done that? Why was his heart beating so hard?_

"And?"

"I'm not sure what it means yet," Jaune said. "Probably nothing."

"Yeah," Ruby said as she leant on the railing, facing the city. "We've kissed before, it's never meant anything. Why should this time be any different?"

"Exactly." Jaune agreed.

A long silence stretched between the pair, both reflecting on their actions.

"Do you want-"

"To go home, yes." Ruby pushed herself off of the balcony and walked towards the door of the room, ignoring the tension between herself and Jaune. "We won't-"

"Talk about this again, got it." Jaune said as he followed her inside.

Neither of them realised that a pair of observant yellow eyes had witnessed it all.

* * *

Once again shout out to Bryce (and some others from the Lancaster Discord) for being immensely helpful on this chapter. Writing this wouldn't happen without the support of others.

Also, shout out to the reviewers, your comments make my day, and I love reading your feedback.


	9. Chapter 9

There are days when you wake up wondering what happened the night before. This usually happens after a night of heavy partying and is accompanied by a feeling of deep-seated regret over things you cannot quite remember.

This also happened to be exactly what Ruby Rose was experiencing the morning after her friends engagement. Not entirely sure of what her actions the night before had been she pulled herself out of bed (when had she gotten home? she didn't remember that.) and began the hunt for breakfast. Unless Jaune had had a snack before going to bed (which he typically did when drunk) she should have half a bottle of strawberry flavoured milk in the fridge. Which she would pour over coco puffs for a overly sugared breakfast. Hopefully Jaune had made coffee already. If he was up.

Walking to the kitchen she rubbed the sleep from her eye, almost tripping on Jaune's shoes where they had been left in the hallway.

"Morning."

Ruby looked up as she entered the kitchen. "Morning."

"Coffee?" Jaune asked as she opened the fridge and crouched in front of it. He was standing at the stove, a pan-full of bacon in front of him, a pair of tongs in one hand, and a large energy drink in the other

"Yes please." She said as she searched through the fridge. No strawberry milk. She sighed and stood up, the jug of plain milk in hand. "How do you feel?"

"Like shit. My head hurts, want to vomit," Jaune said with a grin as he turned his bacon in the pan. "Hoping the old Arc hangover cure'll help that. How much do you remember from last night? Because I remember up until Yang started table dancing then it gets fuzzy"

"Not enough to fill in the blanks sorry." Ruby said, pouring her cereal. She had a sneaking suspicion she had done something she was going to regret, but wasn't sure what it was. "Wait, shouldn't you feel fine, healing factor and all that jazz?"

"My healing factor is the only reason I'm not dead in a ditch." Jaune joked. "Me drinking enough to forget is enough to kill your average man remember?"

"I think the issue here is that we don't Jaune."

"Aren't you a funny one this morning? We'll ask Blake when we see them off later then, she'll know what went on." Jaune said, focussing on the pan in front of him. "So you don't know how we got home?"

"Your shoes in the hall have dirt on the heel so I guess we walked?" Ruby said, scratching her head. "Though now is not the time for difficult questions, now is the time for recovery."

Jaune nodded as he slid his bacon onto some hash browns he had had sitting in the oven. "We have tomato sauce right?"

"I still don't see how it cures a hangover."

"Dude, just trust me, it works." Jaune said with a smile as he grabbed the sauce from the fridge.

"It's probably only because you want it to." Ruby stirred her cocopops, watching as the chocolate turned the milk muddy

"Don't care, it cures my hangover." Jaune sat down opposite Ruby. "So today we have to meet Blake and your sister for lunch in," He glanced at the clock. "An hour and a half."

"Yep." Ruby said. "It'll be a light lunch for us."

"Then we need to go check on Ren and Nora -"

"They are adults, they are fine."

"- Then do some grocery shopping -"

"Hungover grocery shopping never goes well, it's almost as bad as hungry grocery shopping."

"- and then relax all night. Maybe watch a movie."

"Now you see, that last part? I can agree with it." Ruby said standing up and moving to the sink. "Finish your damn cure, I'm taking first shower."

"I wasn't being serious about the shopping!" Jaune called down the hall after Ruby.

"I know!" She replied. "Terrible joke though. Just be ready to leave in an hour."

Jaune rested his head against the table. "I want to die."

"Tough shit."

"For someone who was equally fucked last night you are being very unsympathetic." Jaune said.

"Not my fault."

"Yeah but sympathy would be nice." Jaune said, fork halfway to his mouth.

"That's a great fucking joke, sympathy from me," Ruby said. "Don't worry, Yang will have plenty for you at lunch. You two can commiserate at the end of the table while Blake and I enjoy ourselves. But seriously, I gotta shower, I smell like a bar."

Jaune just nodded as he shovelled hashbrowns and bacon into his mouth.

An hour later they were both standing just outside their apartment block.

"They wouldn't care if we cancelled -"

"I feel like shit"

"Whose idea even was this?" Ruby rubbed her eyes.

"Blake's." Jaune said as he squinted in the sun. What had been a welcome presence the previous morning had become an irritant.

"Fucking sober people." Ruby slipped a pair of sunglasses into place, Jaune recognised them as having been a gift from Coco during the war.

Jaune nodded in agreement. "Where is this cafe?"

"Three blocks away." Ruby said, looking up from her scroll. "And they are on their way there. Are you starting to feel any better?

"A little." Jaune said, scratching at his stubble, he hadn't shaved that morning. "Do you reckon blake will tell us everything that went on last night?"

"Between her sobriety and Velvets camera there will be a perfect record of the night's events." Ruby said as she started down the street. "Honestly I can't wait to find out what we did."

"Usually when I can't remember the night before I take that as being a good thing," Jaune fell into step beside her. "Because I either had the time of my life or I did something dumb I wouldn't want to remember."

"Blake will tell us regardless." Ruby mused.

The cafe was a cute little place hidden on the edges of the industrial sector. It typically catered to factory workers with simple but good fare, but with a growing huntsman population in the area it was branching out into fancier dishes attractive to their new clientele. Blake had picked it because Velvet told her they had an excellent tea selection.

"Why are the lights so bright?" Yang moaned, covering her eyes after they finished giving their orders at the counter. "It's Sunday morning, that's prime hangover time."

"Everyone else needs to be able to see love," Blake said smiling. "Though Jaune looks like he is suffering about as much as you."

"It's not suffering it's torture." Yang mumbled as they all sat down at a table in the corner of the cafe. She and Blake sat in the both seat that ran along the wall, while Jaune and Ruby sat in the chairs opposite, their knees brushing against each other under the table. "All I did was have a a few drinks."

"After not drinking much since the war," Blake said gently. "You were always going to feel like shit. Also you aren't 18 anymore. Your body just can't bounce back from shit."

"Did you just call me old?"

"If she won't I will!" Ruby interrupted, a grin on her face.

"I'm not even 25 babe." Yang continued, ignoring her sister. Her voice was slightly muffled by her forehead being pressed against the table. "You're like 3 months older than me -"

"Shut up I'm older than both of you." Jaune said snippily. He'd stolen Ruby's sunglasses from where she had hung them in the neck of her t-shirt and was now wearing them to protect against the harsh cafe lights.

"Old man." Ruby teased.

"Young lady." He slung back.

"Gross, flirt with my sister somewhere else would you?" Yang said. "It's like I get it, your friends, you live together. You don't take it any further. Please for the love of god tell me you aren't taking it any further."

Blake stared intently at her glass of water, pretending to be fascinated by the etched designs in the glass while Jaune hastily shook his head and assured Yang he had no intentions with Ruby, and Ruby flushed a shade of red.

Yang lifted her head to let her eyes dart between the pair, they could almost hear cogs ticking in her brain as she thought things over. "Methinks thou doth protest too much."

"Methinks you need to retire saying shit dad used on us." Ruby said.

"It's a perfectly good phrase!"

"It's terrible and you know it. It's like being a parent has affected your brain. Turned it all weird."

The sisters continued to bicker, Ruby pointing out how her sister had turned into their father, while Yang brought up that Ruby was being unreasonable.

"That'll keep them occupied for a bit." Blake said to Jaune with a small smile.

"And arguing like children, it'll keep them young." Jaune said.

"You know you look like an asshole with the sunglasses right?"

"You know I have zero shits left to give, right?" Jaune said. "I mean mostly because of the alcohol, but also because of the not caring what people think anymore."

"You are really hungover aren't you?"

"Ridiculously so." Jaune said as a server brought over their meals. "I drank so much I can only remember half of last night. And Ruby tends to forget what happens when she's baked."

"Oh my gods." Blake whispered. "You don't remember anything?"

"Nope." Jaune said, stabbing his fork into his avocado toast. "Why?"

The conversation between Ruby and Yang had fallen into a lull as they tucked into their meals. Both were paying close attention to Blake.

"Let's just put it this way, I remember a lot more than you do." Blake said before taking a bite of her breakfast.

"And?" Yang asked, gesturing wildly with her fork. "C'mon don't just leave us hanging!"

Blake held up one finger as she chewed and swallowed. "Relax it's nothing bad. Jaune and Ruby kissed. They've done it before, right? No big deal."

Ruby felt the blood drain from her face as she abruptly jerked her leg away from Jaune's and he moved his at the same time. She could feel him stiffen like a board next to her

"Well I thought it was no big deal." She remarked.

"No no, it's not." Ruby said, willing her heart to stop pounding, forcing herself to relax. She wasn't sure why she had reacted like that. She had kissed him before, why would it be any different? Just because she might have been noticing how good it helt when he hugged her, or how much easier it was to be around him than anyone else didn't mean anything. Right? "I mean, we're both adults and we were under the influence. Shit like that happens all the time."

"Exactly." Jaune said, not meeting anyones eyes. "No big deal."

Blake and Yang shared a glance before turning back to their plates, both thinking over the other pairs reactions, though with differing ideas on what to do about it. Blake felt content to just let them be, let them figure things out. Though just a touch curious.

Yang however was on the quest to find out more.

"So do you have feelings for each other?"

Jaune and Ruby both paused mid chew, identical faces of shock and confusion while they both struggled to come up with an answer.

"Don't answer her," Blake said. "Seriously Yang I'd expect this from Serafina, not you." She admonished her wife.

"Oh come on you were thinking it too." Yang said, rolling her eyes.

"Seriously Yang?" Exasperation riddled Blake's voice.

"Fine, I'll shut up now."

The rest of the meal passed in silence, all four at the table focused on their own meals and thoughts, ignoring their table mates. After their meal and after they had walked with Blake and Yang to the airship port, Ruby and Jaune found themselves along, walking down an empty residential street on their way to ren and Nora's. Jaune was still wearing Ruby's sunglasses.

"Do you want to talk ab-?"

"Absolutely not." Ruby said as she stared straight ahead, determined to ignore the growing tension between them. "Maybe when we are both completely sober."

Jaune nodded as they walked straight ahead. "Because I was thinking -"

"Jaune . .." There was a warning tone to Ruby's voice.

"- That even if we did have feelings for one another -"

"- If you don't shut up -"

"- It would be irresponsible to act on them." Jaune said. "I mean the whole living together thing -"

"- If it went bad we'd still have to live together." Ruby said, nodding. "So we can't. Couldn't."

"Exactly." Jaune said. "even if I wanted to - which I don't - we just couldn't."

"Yes." Ruby said, still not looking at him. "Keep things the way they are."

"Yeah." He said as he glanced down at her, ignoring the twinge in his chest, pretending it was just his prosthetic acting up. Nevermind that he hadn't felt it in the nearly four years he had had it. "Just keep things the way they are."

* * *

Hi guys, it's been a while. Yeah, let's just say that. I've had things come up over the past few months and well, writing just had to fall by the wayside. It wasn't all good, but it wasn't all bad either, and it was things that needed my undivided attention. We had something very bad happen in the family, but I also graduated. I've just not had time to write until recently.

Thanks for reading, and being patient with me, and if you are new, I don't normally take long times to update. I love reading your thoughts on the chapter, so feel free to leave those.

And as always, massive thank you to Bryce who is an excellent beta reader.


	10. Chapter 10

It had been 4 weeks since the kiss, and Ruby and Jaune still refused to acknowledge the tension between them. Refused to admit that anything had changed, despite the ever-diminishing amount of time spent together. No longer did they spend hours talking, or cook dinner together. There were no movie nights where they ripped films to shreds. Instead the moments when they were together were full of averted gazes and awkward small talk that was them painfully obviously avoiding the was so intense that even those who did not know the pair well were aware that something was wrong.

And with those that did? There was a growing concern that there was something deeply wrong, and that if it wasn't fixed soon that the pair would be torn apart forever. Nora had noticed it first, when they barely looked at each other when they visited Ren and Nora to check on them after the party. Having been too preoccupied with other things during the crucial moment at the party she had chalked it up to everyone being a bit hung over still. It hadn't been until Blake had asked if anything had changed between the pair that Nora realised what was going on. She spent the next few weeks watching them, waiting for them to return to their old habits, their old way of talking to and about each other. But it didn't happen, and she watched them grow further and further apart, she only became more and more determined to bring them back together, with all the eagerness of a teenager determined to make her two best friends hook up.

Nora had however learned some tact since she was a teenager, and now knew that locking two people in a closet was not the fastest way to make them confess their love for each other. Or try to kill each other. She had used it to try and achieve both results.

Instead she opted to try and sort out Jaune and Ruby's issue in a more tactful way. Primarily through talking. Even if she wouldn't be the one doing it, just getting everyone else to

Though she did maintain that locking them in a closet would work as a solid plan B. Even if no-one else agreed with her.

"Do you know what happened between them?" Nora said to her fiancé, bouncing on the balls of her feet. She had just said goodbye to Ruby and Jaune after they had spent three hours helping herself and Ren pick out napkins. "Because the whole 'will they won't they' has turned very 'they won't' since the party."

"It's only been a month, give them a break. Blake told us what happened." Ren said. "Also, why can't we just elope? This whole wedding planning thing is getting to out of hand."

"Because I want a big wedding." Nora said, rehashing a discussion they had been having for years. "I'm just worried. They were getting along so well so comfortable around each other. Now they won't touch each other, they barely look each other in the eye."

Ren eyed his fiancée carefully. "Whatever it is, I'm sure they can figure it out like adults." He paused "Because, you know, they are adults. And don't need our interference."

Nora rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to do anything. But I do wish I knew why they can't go back to normal."

"Do you want me to talk with Jaune?" Ren sighed.

Nora's grin answered his question. "Well Yang is going to have a chat to Ruby so maybe that might help too."

"Fine, I'll talk to him. See what's up." Ren said. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to know."

Nora smiled up at him before cupping his cheek. "Thank you. I'm worried about him. We gotta look after that useless leader of ours."

"Shouldn't he be looking after us?" Ren said with a smirk. "Isn't that how normal teams work?"

"When were we ever a normal team?"

* * *

"Strictly platonic." Ruby said as she eyed herself in the mirror, scissors in hand, judging how much she needed to trim her fringe by. "That's all we are, all we'll ever be and -"

"You cannot change the status quo." Yang's voice was tinny through the scroll speaker. "Yeah you told me. I'm not sure who you are trying to convince, but it sure as hell ain't me."

Ruby sighed placing her head in her hands. "Well what if we changed things and it was bad? And it didn't work? He's like a brother, one of the best friends I've ever had. And it's not like I'm in love with him, and there's no way he's in love with me! I mean he goes on dates all the time."

"Keep telling yourself that sis, one day it'll sound convincing." Yang was on Patch, repainting part of her combat prosthetic that had been scuffed.

"It's just it's been so awkward since the party Yang. We don't talk anymore. Not like we used to," Ruby said sighing. "It used to be so easy you know? And we'd talk about everything. Our missions, drama shows, what's for dinner, therapy, our shitty neighbours shitty dogs," Ruby paused. "I want to complain about the dogs. The contract said no pets but apparently because she's the owner's niece she gets special treatment."

"You could just try talking to him, establish actual boundaries rather than a nebulous 'we don't have feelings' it would help." Yang said. "I've heard communication is excellent for relationships."

Ruby stopped what she was doing to glare at the scroll, knowing her sister couldn't see her. "There is no relationship."

Yang rolled her eyes. "Friendships also require communication."

"There is nothing to communicate!" Ruby said, dropping her scissors. I'm not interested in a relationship, and he said he isn't interested in me in that way!"

There was a long pause as both sisters reflected on what Ruby had said. Yang sensing more and more hesitation from her sister, Ruby trying to convince herself that what she had said was the truth.

"Are you scared?" Yang asked.

"Huh, what?" Ruby said. "I mean yeah sure of lots of things. You all dying is a big one."

"I mean of being in a relationship with a friend again." Yang clarified. "After what happened with Weiss I was wondering if maybe you fear losing not just what you had as friends, but him as being in your life."

"Yeah." Ruby said, her voice sounding rather small. "I really don't want to lose that."

"But with this awkwardness, which has been going on for a month now sis, I've spoken to Nora and she's worried too, you've lost what you had already." Yang said gently. "Wouldn't it be worth talking it out to see if you can get back to where you were?"

Ruby thought for a second while she lined up the scissors with where she wanted to trim her hair. Long enough to cover her eyepatch, but not so long it would be inconvenient on a mission. "So, you want me to deal with my emotions like an adult rather than what I'm doing, which is a strategy I'm quite enjoying because it doesn't involve difficult conversations where I tell my best friend and flatmate that I may or may not be in love with him?" She made the first snip. "I mean in the long run your way would be better, but mine feels good for the now."

"Sis . . ." Yang said slowly. "I love you, and You know I don't want to see you hurt again, but this will hurt you less in the long run, whether it's just clearing things up, or if you end up in a relationship that ends like you and Weiss. At least you will have tried. And remember what Qrow said? 'We regret the things we didn't do, more than the things we did.'"

"Didn't he say that about not getting with Dad?"

"The context isn't what's important, it's the message," Yang said, rolling her eyes. "Don't let opportunities pass you by because you might regret them."

Silence hung over the connection for a second before Ruby said. "Thanks Yang, I think I might try talking to him."

"Awesome." Yang cracked a grin. "Also, I know you're cutting your own hair again. Seriously just go to a hairdresser."

"Jaune says it looks fine when I do it myself." Ruby said, snipping another lock. "And I mean, I like it."

"You don't like him, yet his opinion matters on how you cut your hair." Yang said slowly.

"Yang, he lives in the same apartment, it's the easiest opinion to get." Ruby said, snipping her bangs, careful to leave enough to cover the worst of her scaring.

"Relax, I'm just kidding around sis. But promise me you will talk to him? For both of your sakes?"

"I promise."

* * *

"If you don't tell me what's wrong I'll just kick your ass until you do." Ren said, meeting Jaune's eyes. "I can do this all day."

The two men were squared off against each other, both drenched in sweat and unarmed. Ren with his hair tied back in a messy bun, and his shirt tossed aside 2 rounds ago. Jaune still in long sleeves even in the privacy of the overheated gym. It wasn't an unusual scene for them, they sparred together whenever they could.

"You're distracted Jaune, I've won every match so far." Ren continued. "Usually it's a lot more even."

"Maybe you're just that good." Jaune said between deep breaths.

"Flattery is nice, but you know that's a lie." Ren said sitting down. "C'mon Jaune, sit down and tell me what's on your mind. Sometimes a second perspective can make things seem so much better."

Jaune sighed before walking over to his gym bag and grabbing his drink bottle. "There is nothing to talk about."

"Yeah that's why you can barely look at Ruby, but when you do, your gaze lingers." Ren said, watching as Jaune tensed up at Ruby's name. "You look at her how Nora does pancakes." Ren patted the floor in front of him. "Tell me what's going on."

There was a long pause as Jaune thought over his options. He could tell Ren what had happened, and maybe develop a plan of action, or he could continue running from the issue.

"Ruby and I kissed."

"Really that's it?" Ren said leaning back on his hands. "Haven't you done that before? Like a lot? I remember you two kissing a lot when you were drunk during the war."

"Yeah but, it's different now." Jaune took a deep breath. "It made me wonder about how close I'd been getting with Ruby and if there was something other than just, you know, friendship at play. I mean I wouldn't say I'm not attracted to her, she's probably the hottest girl I know - no offence to your fiancée Ren - but I can't be developing you know, feelings for her right? that's absurd. She's like my sister . . ."

There was a slight smile on Ren's lips as he listened to Jaune ramble. He knew the thought process well, it had occupied his mind for the better part of a year after he entered Beacon.

"Maybe you need to consider that maybe you are into her. In the more than 'just friends' way." Ren said.

"But I'm not." Jaune said. "I'm just imagining things because we live together. Shit like that happens, right?"

"Yes, but it tends to be rooted in some actual feelings," Ren said. "You know you should at least talk about this with her right? Clear the air, get on the same page, stop being so goddamn awkward because guess what? we've all noticed."

"We agreed never to speak of it again." Jaune said, fiddling with the cap of his bottle.

Concern clouded Ren's face. "Probably all the more reason you should. Nora and I are worried."

"When aren't you?"

"When you stop giving us reason to worry." Ren said, an edge of seriousness in his voice that hadn't been there before. "Jaune, you're our leader, or friend, and the closest thing to a family member we have. and we know what Ruby means to you, even just as a friend. we don't want you to lose that."

Jaune tipped his head back to stare at the ceiling. "What if I'm scared?"

"Of emotions?"

"Of a relationship," Jaune clarified, suddenly feeling very small. "Except for casual flings and whatever I had with Pyrrha, I've been single my whole life. The vulnerability scares me"

"I didn't say get in a relationship, I said talk to her," Ren said. "And if you do get in one, well, just let it flow, let it be organic. There are times where we have to be vulnerable, and Ruby is someone who has probably seen everything you have already, she's not going to think any differently of you. Nora and I'll support you both no matter what. And if you're worried about disrespecting Pyrrha's memory, she wanted nothing more than for you to be happy."

Jaune reached over and clapped a hand on Ren's shoulder. "You've been a great help today."

"You're going to talk to her?"

"I'm going to kick your ass first."

Ren waved a hand in front of his face. "I'm done for the day. Exhausted."

"Scared you'll lose if you fight me with a clear head." Jaune gave a cocky smirk.

"No, I'm just tired." Ren said. "And it's getting close to dinnertime. Nora's cooking."

"Good luck."

"She's an excellent cook you know." Ren defended his fiancée.

"If it comes from a box."

"I happen to enjoy chicken nuggets and spring rolls with oven fries." Ren said. "Which is the menu tonight."

Jaune snorted.

"I do!" Ren said. "Whatever. Look word of advice, before your chat with Ruby, don't shave for a few days. Nora said Ruby likes beards on guys. A few days is long enough for you to grow a beard, right?"

"Hilarious." Jaune said as he scratched at his stubble. He'd shaved that morning, and it only took a few days for him to start looking scruffy. "I'll talk to her. Again, thanks Ren."

* * *

He was tense and she wasn't sure why. She could see it in his shoulders, his eyes. the way he clenched his fork. All of them telling her that there was something wrong. It wasn't unusual, they had been tense around each other for a month now, but today he seemed more so. And she wasn't much better.

Ruby had been mulling this over for a few days now, whether to take Yang's advice or run from it. trying to figure out the best time to approach him. And she supposed now was as good a time as any. As he ate a post workout snack.

"Jaune," she said as she stat down opposite him. "We need to talk."

He looked her in the eye. "Yeah. We do."

Maybe this conversation would be a little easier than they both thought.

* * *

 **Hi guys, can you believe this? An update? In less than a month? I can't either. Hopefully, there will be another one before uni starts. Massive thanks to Bryce for beta reading, and I love reading your responses.**


	11. Chapter 11

"About the kiss." Ruby said.

"I know." Jaune didn't break eye contact. Truth be told there was a sense of relief washing through him, that he hadn't been the one to initiate conversation.

"And clear up all this," Ruby gestured wildly, as if indicating to something tangible. "Awkwardness between us."

Jaune nodded. "So where do you want to start?"

"You're taking this oddly well for someone who agreed to never speak about this again," Ruby said narrowing her eyes. "I mean, that's not bad-"

"But you expected me to resist the conversation, right?" Jaune asked. "I expected the same of you, but I've had it drilled into me that it doesn't help to not talk about them."

"Yang called you too."

"Ren punched it into me," Jaune said with a smile. "And he was right. There are things we need to talk about."

A pause hung in the air between them as they both mustered up the strength to say what those emotions were. Both steeling themselves for possible reactions.

It was Ruby who broke the silence. "The kiss brought to the front a lot of emotions I'd been trying to ignore. You know how Yang says, 'influenced actions, sober thoughts'? This was that. So, if you want to move out now because it's too awkward, I get that. But I thought you should know. the kiss didn't just happen because we weren't sober, there was a bit of 'I really want to kiss him' in there too."

Jaune nodded along solemnly. "Good to know I wasn't alone in the emotions thing. That would have sucked."

Ruby gave him a withering look.

"I've been wondering since the kiss why I had felt so awkward about it, and why I hadn't just let it go," Jaune said. "after a bit of soul searching I think I was afraid to lose you. As a friend or anything else. And not being close to you, emotionally - and I guess physically? We haven't hugged so much - over the past month has hurt. It's like I'm missing out on a thing I didn't know I had."

Ruby reached across the table and grabbed his hand.

"Yeah, it's been things like this I missed." He said as he laced their fingers together.

They both sat there for a long while, fingers laced together, enjoying a sense of closeness they had both missed. drawing strength and comfort from each other.

"But I'm not ready for a relationship." Ruby said as she pulled her hand away, watching as Jaune's face remained impassive. "Not after Weiss. Being in a relationship with a friend . . . That's scary. You can be hurt so badly. I don't want to be hurt again."

"Yeah, I understand that." Jaune said, staring into the middle-distance. "I guess a large part of why I was distant was fear. A combination of that and feeling like I've betrayed Pyrrha. That still, I don't know what to think about that ever. it's been six years. It messes me up."

"She was your partner, there was something there and you didn't get to explore it," Ruby said. "You don't have to have all the answers for it. Shit, I don't have answers for anything I've been involved in."

"But, I don't want you to be another regret or missed opportunity." Jaune continued. "If that makes any sense."

"It does." Ruby assured him. "We don't want to lose what we had and we're both scared of any progression from that. How about we go back to what we were. We stop being awkward about the kiss - it's taken up too much of our brain space as is - and we just see where we go. If we stay just friends, that's all well and good. If we do eventually progress on from here, then hey, we did it. and we can know we'd regret the things we didn't do more than the things we did."

"I was kind of hoping you would say something like that." Jaune leaned back in his chair, smiling. "I've missed having you as a friend."

"I was still your friend." Ruby said.

"Oh you know what I mean." Jaune said.

"Yeah, but I wasn't there for you if you needed me, and you weren't there for me because we're both so damn stupid. I wasn't opening up to you like I had been." Ruby fiddled with the cuff of her shirt. "God I missed being able to talk to you."

"We can now If you want to."

"It's the first time we've said more than three words to each other in a month, I'm not ruining it by telling you the details of my therapy sessions." Ruby said. "But I will take you up on that at some point."

Jaune nodded. "So you continued with those?"

Ruby nodded. "It's been harder alone, but I still think it's helping."

"I'm proud of you."

"Hm?"

Jaune smiled at her. "You went it alone. When I shouldn't have left you alone to it."

"I'm used to dealing with this alone." Ruby said shrugging. "Though, you being there, that has helped."

"Well, I look forward to being there to help you again." Jaune said.

"Thanks."

"Anyway, non-awkward celebratory pizza?" Jaune pulled out his scroll. "that really nice Mistrali place is having 2 for 1 Tuesday, so we can get the good shit, not the chain restaurant crap."

"Only if we can talk about 301's fucking dogs while we eat." Ruby said. "I'm seriously barely sleeping because of them.'

"They're the worst!" Jaune said as he opened an app on his scroll. "Ham and pineapple still, right?"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Of course, I didn't turn into a heathen while we weren't talking. Also, do you want to watch 'Vacuo Winds'? I haven't been keeping up, it's not as fun without you to rip into it with me."

"Don't lie, you want to know if it was Roark or Mause that happened."

"That too," Ruby admitted. "But you have to admit, Roark is an amazing ship."

"Mause for life."

Ruby shook her head, looking deeply disappointed. "You truly do have shit taste."

* * *

Ruby enjoyed the next few weeks as she slowly grew closer to Jaune again, relishing in the renewed closeness in their relationship. She relaxed as they began to hang out together again, Ruby maintaining Crescent Rose in the living room while watching television with Jaune. Or cooking dinner together. Yelled conversations across the hall became their norm again. Long conversations with the television muted, where they talked about everything, from the show they just watched, to the groceries they needed, to each of their latest therapy sessions.

She was happy. It was like her heart sung while she was around him. Like his very presence was a calming force in her life. And rather than fighting it and trying to ignore it as she had been, she just allowed it to be. Allowed it to grow and flourish.

Though while they have begun to grow closer emotionally again, physical intimacy was still something they held back on. There were few touches, and none of the hugs they had both become accustomed to. Until Ruby broke that barrier down before she and Jaune set off on separate missions. Her's taking her to Vacuo and its desert. An escort mission for a group of archaeologists looking for evidence of previous settlement in the Vacuo desert. His taking him to Atlas for guest lecturing at the academy, and to help in clearing some ice golems.

"You look after yourself," Jaune said. "The desert around Vacuo is deceptive."

"I'll be fine, it's hardly my first time." Ruby rolled her eyes while she fiddled with the strap of her pack. She understood his concern, the mission she had accepted was likely to go for at least two months, possibly three. "I will. You be careful in Atlas. Stay warm, it's fucking cold up there."

"I will," Jaune smile. His mission was shorter, a month at the most. "I've got all my super heavy duty winter gear packed, and I'll buy anything I need."

"Good." Ruby said, shuffling her feet and avoiding Jaune's eyes.

"Are you okay?" Jaune asked.

There was a pause while Ruby mulled over her answer. "Yes. No. I don't know."

Jaune sighed softly. "Do you want to elaborate?"

"I just got you back," Ruby said. "It's going to suck to be without you again. Scroll service is shitty where I'm going. I guess I'm going to miss you."

Jaune placed a hand on her shoulder, unsure of the emotions swirling in his chest. He was going to miss her sure, he always did. But this time felt different. "It'll be three months at most." Jaune said. "And we can still try to get messages through to each other."

"Yeah." Ruby said, still not meeting his eyes. Turmoil brewed inside her and she hated it. Why couldn't her emotions be easy? She mused before taking a deep breath and hugging him. "We can"

The hug took him by surprise at first, but he instinctively wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer. Trying to ignore the warm, fuzzy feeling growing in his chest he glanced up at the terminal's boarding screen. "Your ship is starting to board."

"I know." Ruby said, pulling out of the hug.

"You need to get going."

"I know that too." Ruby said. "Just promise to stay safe."

"Only if you do too." Jaune said. "I'll see you later Ruby."

"I guess you will." Ruby said, giving him a thumbs up as she headed to her boarding gate.

* * *

"You know, I looked up your assignment. You weren't meant to come to Mistral."

"Hey Thetis." Jaune said. He was sitting on Pyrrha's veranda, staring across the yard at her memorial stone.

Thetis sighed as she sat down beside him. "Why are you here Jaune?"

"It's soothing."

"You are more on edge than I've ever seen you." Thetis said as she reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out a packet of cigarettes. "You don't mind if I light up do you?'

"I thought you quit?" Jaune said. "Bad your lungs."

"I'm nearing 60, the love of my life is showing his age and my only child is dead." Thetis said as she lit her cigarette. "The only people who visit us are yourself, Ruby, Ren, and Nora. Sometimes I wonder what it is I have to live for."

Jaune grunted in agreement. "Can I bum a smoke?"

"I thought you quit?" Thetis echoed. "Bad for your lungs."

"I'm feeling melancholy. Smoking seems appropriate." Jaune said.

"I'm not going to give you a smoke, more out of selfishness than any concern for your health," Thetis said. "But I am here to talk if you need it."

"I'm not sure it's something I can talk to you about."

"Hit me." Thetis said, pushing wisps of graying hair out of her eyes. "You're the closest thing I have to a child And I know you still aren't having much contact with your parents - you need to fix that by the way - and sometimes it helps to talk things out with an old fart like me."

Jaune looked over at her, anger flitting across his face. "They didn't understand why I didn't come home, and when I tried to explain everything they didn't even try. It's a two-way street. They don't want to see me as broken by the war, they just want to see the hero. And I can't be that."

Silence hung in the air as Thetis blew smoke rings. "Parents don't like to think of their kids as anything less than perfect. I was that parent. I pretended like Pyrrha was so perfect there could never be anything wrong with her. I didn't realise how lonely she was until she talked about 'this boy who's never heard of her and just wants to be her friend'. And even then, I really didn't want to face it. So I can't blame your parents. You should try for some kind of a relationship, you still talk to Rouge, right? She might be able to help."

"She kinda gets it." Jaune smiled weakly thinking about his oldest sister. "Knows I need the space but still tries to include me. She's good."

"I know she is, she's in contact with you," Thetis said. "But seriously, why are you here, why are you feeling melancholy?"

"It's about Ruby."

"What about her?"

"I think I'm falling for her." Jaune felt a weight lift in his chest with each word.

"And you feel guilty about my daughter, right?'

There was a noncommittal grunt from Jaune

Thetis was quiet for a moment as she watched her latest smoke ring float out of the yard. "You know, I learned to blow smoke rings to impress the first man I fell for. This was the days when everyone smoked, our teachers did it in class. I didn't end up with that man obviously. He passed away three weeks after we graduated, and two weeks after we decided to go steady," Thetis paused, eyes far away with memory. "Eventually I had to move on. It was hard, I felt like I was betraying everything he had been to me. But I needed to. I had to realise that he wanted me to be happy more than anything else. And that Just because he was gone didn't mean I had to stop doing normal things."

"It's a bit weird being told to go after a girl by the mother of someone who liked you." Jaune said with a slight smile.

"Well it's true. You don't have to be unhappy because of some misplaced honour." Thetis took a long drag of her cigarette. "It's stupid how people do that. I suppose the other source of advice on this would have been Taiyang, but his advice would be to sleep with everyone. Not something you would have wanted to hear from Ruby's father."

"Not particularly no." Jaune gave a wry smile. "He'd probably start giving advice, realise who I was asking advice on, then try to kill me."

"Have you told Ruby you're in love with her?"

"I've told her I have feelings for her that I'm not sure about." Jaune said, twisting his fingers together.

"And what did she say?"

"It's mutual," Jaune sighed. "But with Wiess being so recent -"

"She doesn't want anything?"

"We decided to see where it goes." Jaune said, the weight settling in his chest again.

"Ouch."

"It's not that bad Thetis." Jaune rolled his eyes. "I mean, I'm not really up for dating either"

"Except that for you two it wouldn't be dating, but rather calling a spade a spade rather than a hoe." Thetis said before taking a long drag of her cigarette.

Jaune looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "Did you just call Ruby a whore?"

"That is not what I meant and you know it." Thetis lightly hit Jaune's shoulder. "The only thing you two don't do is have sex."

"Nora told you about the kiss?"

"Nora told everyone about the kiss. You give that girl a cup of tea and half a biscuit and she'll start spewing gossip like a volcano does lava." Thetis smiled, thinking about Nora's most recent visit. She loved when Ren and Nora dropped in, usually unannounced, because it meant her kitchen was filled with laughter and Ren did the dishes before he left.

Jaune shook his head. "I guess the chat I had with her about not telling everyone everything needs to be re-done."

"Oh leave her be, she doesn't tell people who you wouldn't want to know." Thetis said. "Are you staying for dinner?"

Jaune nodded. "I will be." He said as he stood up. "Thanks for this Thetis."

"Anytime kiddo." She said as she followed him into the house. Promise me you'll get in contact with your family."

"I'll try." Jaune said.

* * *

Hours later, as he waited at the airship docks for the last ship of the day, Jaune's thumb hung over the call button on his scroll, and the screen showed a familiar number, the first one he had memorised when he was 4 years old and going to a friend's sleepover birthday. Even though the number was saved on his scroll, he could dial it by muscle memory alone. Taking a deep breath, he hit the button and raised the scroll to his ear.

"Hey Mom." Jaune said, willing his voice not to crack. "Yeah, it's me. Yes, it's been a long time. I'm sorry. I'm doing better now, yes. I just wanted to call to check up on you all. I've missed you too Mom. Do you mind if I talk to you about something? Awesome. No, I'm not doing anything, just about to get on an airship. So, I wanted to ask you . . ."

* * *

Hi guys, thanks for sticking with me, My flat's internet completely shat itself, so uploading hasn't been a thing I can do. I'm doing alright, uni is back and looking good. Massive thanks to Bryce for beta reading, as per usual. This story would not be what it is without his help.


	12. Chapter 12

_1 new message from the six million lien man._

 _I made it home. Do you know when you'll be back? x_

Ruby smiled as she read the message, she was in an area with service, at a small tavern that served the first hot food she'd seen in weeks. She'd just bathed, washing off the grime of the road, and was waiting for her dinner to be brought to her when she checked her messages.

 _I'm glad you did. I miss you. x_

She put her scroll down as she stared into the crowded tavern, she wasn't the only licensed hunter here, and there were more than a few unlicensed ones as well. She guessed that when you ran the only accommodation in town you did good business.

 _I miss you too. x_

She glanced at the time when she read the message. What was 6 pm for her was nearly midnight in Vale and she was slightly disappointed in Jaune's sleeping habits. But still it warmed her heart reading it. She'd missed him.

 _Shouldn't you be in bed? In Vale time?_

The reply was almost instant. He'd been lying awake in the dark, trying to sleep but his mind was racing, wondering about how he hadn't heard from her.

 _Yeah._

A second message followed the first.

 _But I saw your message as I was falling asleep._

Ruby sighed, struggling not to giggle like a schoolgirl over a crush.

 _You should sleep. I'm fine. I know that was what has been keeping you up._

 _But I want to talk to you._

 _Good night Jaune._

 _Good night Ruby._

The beep of the alarm on his scroll woke Jaune up. No that wasn't right. Jaune didn't have an alarm on his scroll, not while he was within the city at least. And it was still dark out, usually he let himself be woken by the sun. Groggily he reached over to his side table, grabbing his scroll, fumbling for the buttons to make it shut up. Then he let himself fall asleep again, scroll still in hand.

He woke up properly four hours later, and wandered into the kitchen for coffee before he checked his scroll for the time.

 _1 message from Scarface at 3:19 am._

Ruby. He broke into a smile as he opened the message. It had been a week since her last message. Two weeks since she was supposed to make it back to Vale.

 _Mission over. I arrive on the 8:15 airship in. ox_

Jaune glanced at the time. 7:34. If he ran he could just make it. He tapped at the screen trying to send a message to Ruby, frustrated at himself for not having realised why his scroll has woken him up. He'd set it to beep loudly if Ruby messaged him.

 _I'll see you then. x_

The next few minutes were a frantic scramble for clothing, shoes, and keys. A dirty set of jeans were grabbed from the floor and he buttoned his coat over the t-shirt he wore as pyjamas. He glanced at the time again as he locked the apartment door. He'd make it, but only if he hurried.

He tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the elevator, thinking to himself that what he had to do outweighed the importance of all the things of the other tenants. A part of him chastised himself for that thought.

On his way he stopped at the convenience store briefly to buy an energy drink and a granola bar. He didn't even try to deny it when the owner asked him if he was going pick up his girlfriend. He just nodded and hurriedly punched in his pin number.

Every stoplight felt like a nuisance, every person dawdling on their way to work a pain in the ass. And when he got to the station he fought through the sea of people to reach the arrivals gate. He checked his watch. He had made it with time to spare.

Relieved he sat in one of the cold plastic chairs, fiddling with his scroll, checking for unread messages. He wasn't the only one waiting. There were a few hunters he recognised by face from the war, and people he knew were the partners of others. And there were half a dozen families waiting to be reunited. He recognised the wife and daughter of one of Ironwoods old deputy's who Jaune had worked closely with after Ironwoods death.

He turned his attention back to the gate as people began to trickle out of it. Some heading for the main exit of the station, some stopping for tearful and heartfelt reunions with loved ones. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a child giving a drawing to someone that was obviously his grandmother.

And then he saw her, wrapped in her mud caked red cloak and looking utterly exhausted. Her left arm was wrapped in bandages. He had to stop himself from yelling her name as he almost ran towards her, enveloping her in a hug, while trying to be careful of her arm. He felt her wrap her right arm around him.

"I missed you." Ruby whispered into his chest, willing her eyes not to well up. She hadn't been prepared for how hard it was to see him again.

"I missed you too." He said. "You made it back."

"Of course I did, I'm the best around, why wouldn't I?" She said.

"You're a cocky little shit is what you are." Jaune murmured into her hair

She just smiled at that, burying her face further into his clothing. "You smell, you know that?"

"Sorry."

"Don't be," She said. "It's a good smell. It makes me think of home and safety."  
Jaune smiled as he rested one hand on her hair. "It's actually the smell of me not showering and then running here."

"You're never allowed to shower again." Ruby said, her voice muffled by his coat.

Ruby would have been content to stay there forever, drawing solace from having Jaune near again, but Jaune had other plans.

"Let's get you home okay?" He said as he disentangled from the hug but still holding her right hand. "I'm sure you want to sleep in a real bed for a change. And I want to hear all about the mission."

A dark cloud drew across Ruby's face. "I don't want to talk about it."

"What happened?"

"I said I don't want to talk about it." She snapped at him, roughly grabbing her bag and walking towards the exit. Jaune followed suit.

"I won't bring it up." He said as he fell into step with her, and grabbed the handles of her bad, slinging it over his back. "I will however take that bag."

"I can carry it myself." Ruby said petulantly.

"You're hurt."

Ruby sighed. "I'm fine, a gryphon scratch. You don't need to worry about me."

"Well it's not often I get to worry about someone else instead of the other way around." Jaune said with a smile.

"If you didn't use yourself as a meat shield it wouldn't happen." Ruby said, a tinge of humour creeping back into her voice. "Healing doesn't equal indestructible."

The doctors' orders for Ruby had been that she wasn't allowed to move her arm too much, to prevent further damage and encourage healing. Unfortunately, Ruby didn't seem to agree. Jaune constantly caught her doing things she shouldn't, or things that were made more difficult than needed by her bandages. To him it felt like he was babysitting an extremely dangerous and armed toddler whose favourite toy had been taken from her.

That didn't mean he didn't love every minute of looking after her though.

"Hey." Jaune leant against the doorframe, watching as Ruby fiddled with the cap of her nail polish.  
"Hey Jaune." She didn't look up, she'd been trying to get the cap off it for the past half hour.

"Do you want some help with that?" Jaune asked, already halfway to her bed.

Ruby sighed putting the polish down on her pink blossom printed duvet. "No, it's stupid. Plus, it smells bad and you hate when I do them in the lounge anyway."

"I don't hate when you do your nails, I hate that whoever invented nail polish made it stink."

Jaune said as he sat on the bed, ignoring his knees protesting when he pulled them into a cross legged position. "And I know you like to have them painted when you're in the city so I want to do them for you. To see you smile." He took the bottle gently from her.

"Thanks Jaune." She smiled as he unscrewed the cap on her basecoat. "It means a lot."

"I'm just being a good boyfriend." Jaune shrugged as he took her left hand and gently started painting her nails.

Ruby froze. "Boyfriend?"

"Are you not cool with me calling us boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"No, no, it's just, it caught me off guard." Ruby said, anxiety coursing through her veins. Boyfriend. The word still rang in her ears, it sounded so real, so serious.

"We don't have to put labels on this if you don't want to," Jaune continued. "I'm not to bothered by them. Better let that dry for a second, right?"

"Yeah, right." Ruby said, her mind half a world away as she thought.

"And anyway, I'm just worried about you," Jaune continued. "Since you've been back, even though I told you to rely on me and let me help you you've been so wrapped up in your own head and trying to do everything for yourself. You know you can depend on me, right?"

Ruby sighed, "I know it's just – "

"Not in your programming? Yeah, I know." Jaune gave a small smile as he began painting Ruby's favourite maroon polish on her thumb. It had just the slightest hint of gold shimmer in it. "I'm exactly the same way, remember? Or I was. You just need to learn that just because you're the leader doesn't mean you can't depend on your team. And now I'm part of that team."

"Thanks, Jaune." Ruby smiled, brushing her hair behind her ear.

"Also, because you are going to hurt that arm more and then I'll have to deal with you being hurt for longer." Jaune said. "It's like I need childproof locks on everything to stop you from trying to do things."

"I'm not that bad." Ruby protested with a shake of her head

"You tried to make breakfast this morning," Jaune said. "I found you standing on a chair trying to reach the backup jar of apricot jam."

"You were asleep when I started."

"You could have woken me up and I wouldn't have cared," Jaune said, a stern edge to his voice.

"Hell you dropping things was what woke me up."

Ruby looked down at her bed. "I know, I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Jaune said as he undid the polish again. "Just let me help."

"I'll try."

They sat together in silence while Jaune finished painting Ruby's nails, being careful not to get any of it on her skin. She wouldn't admit it but he did a pretty good job, almost better than what she usually did. And it was nice to have someone doting on her.

"Thank you." She whispered when he finished applying her topcoat.

"It's no biggie." Jaune shrugged.

"It is to me," Ruby said, emotion thick in her voice. "Painting my nails is about more than just them looking pretty. It's about feeling normal, feeling like a civilian and not having to worry about if I'm going to die today. I can't keep polish on in the field, it chips so easily with everything we do. But when I'm home, whether it's Patch, or Vale, or Atlas it's like a reminder. That I'm safe here, and while this safety might be fleeting, I can relax here and pretend I'm normal, that I'm just some girl who paints her nails because It looks nice. That I'm not just a ruthless killing machine, I'm a normal person."

"You aren't a ruthless killing machine." Jaune said as he wiped away the tear that was creeping out of Ruby's good eye. "Maybe to the Grimm, but they don't have souls."

"Jaune That's not what I'm-"

"I know that's not what you're talking about, but we all have blood on our hands, and it was them or us." Jaune said scratching at his stubble, he hadn't shaved since the day before. "That's one past we cannot dwell on Ruby."

Ruby nodded as she processed what he was saying. "You're right. Yep. I gotta move past it right?"

"Exactly," Jaune said. "Also, we gotta go grocery shopping so I need you to smile. Let them think

we live in domestic bliss."

"You didn't go before I got home?" Ruby said with an eyeroll.

"I did but you dropped it all on the floor!" Jaune said standing up and offering Ruby his hand.

"Okay, totally not my fault!" Ruby defended herself. "Absolutely the griffin's fault."

"I'm not saying you're at fault, I'm saying you should have asked me for help." Jaune said before kissing Ruby on the forehead. "And that you need to look after yourself."

"I hate you, asshole." Ruby said a smile on her face before leaning on her tiptoes to kiss him.

"I hate you too, bitch." Jaune murmured as he followed her out the door, grabbing a backpack on the way out.

They were still bickering when they arrived at the supermarket.

"Are you going to behave or do I have to treat you like a child?" Jaune asked a teasing smile on his face as he pushed their trolley into the store.

Ruby didn't look up from the shopping list on her scroll, she'd made it as they walked to the store, only a few blocks from their apartment. "I'm going to go grab the potatoes."

"Child it is." Jaune muttered scooping Ruby up in his arms and depositing her in the trolley, an irritated look on her face.

"Jaune!" Ruby almost yelled. "For fucks sake, why?" She knew she couldn't get out of the trolley without breaking anything else, she barely could with 4 functioning limbs. Though the last time she had had to they had been racing trolleys drunk during the war to blow off some steam from an awful battle. That had been when she learned the real reason her uncle drank.

"I'm not letting you lift anything too heavy and hurt yourself." He said. "Because I'm a responsible adult."

"You're a pain in the ass."

"A pain in the ass that cares about you." He said as he lifted a sack of potatoes and positioned them in the cart next to her. "What's next?"

Ruby sighed, glancing at her scroll. "Broccoli. And cauliflower."

Jaune wrinkled his nose. "Ew."

"Don't be a baby." Ruby said with an eye roll. "They're good for you. Now who's adulting, bitch?"

"Still me, you're only 21."

"22 next month. And I've been legally an adult since I was 18."  
Jaune smiled down at Ruby where she sat cross legged in the cart. "Your vegetables, Miss Adult."

"Sweet potato next."

They continued around the store like this, up and down each aisle, Ruby calling out grocery items and Jaune grabbing them from the shelves, while also returning the random items Ruby filled the trolley with anytime there was something within arm's reach.

"I'm fairly certain we don't need anchovies," Jaune said as he stacked five jars of them back onto a shelf. "Put that tuna back I know you are grabbing it." He didn't even have to look at her to know what she was doing by now.

"Blakes coming over next week we need it!" Ruby argued.

"We don't need ten cans." Jaune said, a little frustration creeping into his voice. "Hell we don't even need one, I checked and we have some in the pantry. About the only thing that survived Cyclone Ruby this morning."

"I wasn't a cyclone, I was a tropical storm at worst." Ruby said, a slight smile in her eyes. "Fine

I'll put the tuna back." Ruby said stacking it back onto the shelf with her good arm.

"Thank you," Jaune said as he pushed the trolley off to finish the shopping. "What else do we need?"

"Just bread." Ruby said as she tapped the check boxes beside the canned goods they had bought. "And cookies."

"Are they on the list?"

"No but I want them." Ruby said.

"Then cookies it is." Jaune said as he steered them towards the snack aisle. "What kind?"

"Triple Choc Chunk, Hokey Pokey, and Red Velvet if they have them." Ruby rattled off, almost by memory. She always requested the same flavours.

Jaune grabbed the bags of cookies from the shelves and passed them to Ruby for inspection.

"Do they have the other brand of Red Velvet?"

"Yes, but these ones are cheaper."

Ruby nodded putting the packet down. "Fair enough."

"How about we get out of here?" Jaune said, pushing the cart towards the check outs.

"Bread." Ruby reminded him.

"Right." He said, sharply turning the trolley in the direction of the bread aisle. "Same as always?"

"Yep."

With that they finished their shopping and headed to the checkouts, Ruby fishing through her purse for their membership card while Jaune loaded their shopping onto the conveyer belt before helping her out of the trolley. When Jaune was finished packing most of the grocery's into his backpack, and the rest into reusable bags, he passed a bag with a loaf of bread in it to Ruby.

"I'm injured, I don't have to carry shit!" She claimed waving her bandaged arm in his face.

"And if I hadn't given it to you, you would have complained I was babying you." Jaune said.

"Yeah I would have." Ruby said with a goofy smile. "You know me too well."  
Jaune smiled down at her, before leaning down ands kissing her on the forehead. "I don't think I ever could."

* * *

Hi guys, so it's been... A while since I updated. Not because I don't love the story, I love the basic idea of it so much I want to create an Original Work around it. I've just been dealing with a lot, between postgrad study, major mental health issues, and trying to maintain a semblance of a social life - it been a lot to deal with. And for a while, I really wasn't coping. And so writing, which I find quite freeing most of the time became a bit of a burden.

Major shout out to Bryce as always. He's a fantastic beta reader, and an absolute true friend. This story really wouldn't be here without him.


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